


Taken

by JustLyra



Category: MotoGP RPF, Motorcycling RPF
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Friends to Lovers, Imprisonment, Kidnapping, M/M, Other, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-08-07 11:19:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 32,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7712869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustLyra/pseuds/JustLyra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A security alert sees several riders taken to a safe house for their own protection, however things are not quite what they seemed</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“So, finally, track limits…” Spreading his hands wide, Mike shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t want to lecture you about track limits any more than you want to hear about it… If you stay on the track then… Can I help you?”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Striding to the front of the room, his gait confident, the tall man clad in navy, his outfit a cross between a police uniform and some sort of military garb, a gun clearly visible strapped to his hip, his four colleagues taking their place at the back of the room, “My name is Sergeant Jackson from Special Branch. We’ve received a specific threat against a small number of your riders. Due to the credibility of the threat we need to remove them to a secure location whilst we hunt down the perpetrators.”

“Oh…” Floundering, a glance to his MotoGP colleagues leaving him no better clued, Mike shrugged, “We did receive communications from the Metropolitan Police about the current terror threat level last week…”

“Yes Sir, there has been an increase in the level,” Turning to the room, his voice loud and commanding, Tall Guy smiled, “I realise this is probably both bizarre and frightening. My police colleagues will communicate with all teams about stepping up basic security. We’ve received specific threats against four riders who we wish to take to a safe house. You will be able to ride this weekend. You will be able to have communication with your family and friends. We’re not cutting you off from everyone, it’s not like tv…” Smiling at the slight relaxing in the room, a small titter going about at his joke, “We need Lorenzo, Rossi, Pedrosa and Marquez to come with us… Apologies, I don’t follow bikes so I’m not sure who you are. The rest of you, please stay in your seats then one of my colleagues will come up and brief you in a few minutes.”

“I assume you mean me…” Marc stood up, tilting his head toward his younger brother sat next to him, “He’s Marquez too though…”

“Oh…” Catching the eye of another man at the back of the room Tall Guy frowned, his brain whirring, “I wasn’t aware of your brother. Erm. If you are more high profile it’s likely to be you, although if you are close, you know what kid, you come too. Better safe than sorry. Let’s go.”

Following Tall Guy from the room, his colleagues flanking them, checking doors and windows as they went, putting the five silent riders on edge. Opening the door, the officers made a pathway for the riders, guiding them to a black minivan with blacked out windows, Tall Guy getting into the front passenger seat next to the driver, the rest moving to identical vehicles, one in front and one behind, all moving in convoy, moves meticulously practised as their flashing lights made the crowds part and traffic stop.

Turning back to the guys Tall Guy smiled, “Try and relax, I realise it’s weird, but you’ve got eight of the best trained officers in the country with you directly and the full back up of every police force. Please either turn your phones off or put them onto airplane mode, the location of the safe house can’t be given away. We’ll give you a secure line to call your families on when we get there.”

*

“How far is the safe house?” Dani was the first to speak up, all of them sharing concerned looks as they whizzed past countryside, then a more built up area, then more countryside, their speed taking them away from the racetrack quickly.

Tall Guy turned in his seat, his smile still in place, “We go bizarre routes to places for safety reasons. We’re not as far away as you think.”

“Oh,” Dani nodded, smiling, not wanting to question the man, but knowing a little bit of the route given his time in London he knew they were getting further and further away, “Right.”

“Just relax,” Tall Guy laughed at himself, “I know that’s easier said than done. There’s some water in the little cool box thing, help yourselves. It’s a warm day.”

“Thanks,” Melting, the vehicle seemingly devoid of air con, Marc opened the box, divvying out the four bottles, laughing at Alex’s pout, “We’ll share. Me first.”

“Yeah, don’t drink it all,” Alex grumbled as Marc downed most of the bottle, before smiling as Dani handed him half of his, “Thanks Dani. At least **someone** has manners!”

Jorge pulled a face, his nose wrinkling in disgust, “Whatever brand that is it’s disgusting, no offence.”

“None taken,” Tall Guy smiled, his crooked teeth at odds with the spotlessness of his uniform, before turning back in his seat, listening to the five chatter amongst themselves, their words slowly beginning to be slurred, like they’d been drinking, all of them too confused to notice, all virtually asleep within thirty minutes. Reaching for his phone he snapped a photo to send on to his boss, quickly explaining the extra rider, before relaxing back in his seat as they pulled off the motorway, hurtling down a road until the cut off to the country lane, their destination close.


	2. Chapter 2

Opening his eyes, his head thumping, Dani groaned, somehow feeling hungover. Looking around the room he frowned in confusion, his stomach lurching as he realised something was very, very wrong. He wasn’t sure what police safe houses looked like, and he knew they probably didn’t look like they did on television, but the damp, dingy and smelly room, lit by a single lightbulb, they were in just seemed, and felt, wrong.

The room was set up for four people, that was instantly clear; four single beds, two pushed against each long wall opposite each other, four chairs around a little table which homed four sandwiches in packets, four cans of coke and four Mars Bars. Looking down at the bed he was on, no idea how he’d got there, Dani winced, his OCD a joke to many people, but real to him the grotty mattress covered in stains, the duvet, thankfully, looking new, comfortable and smell-free albeit missing a cover.

“Dani? Where the fuck are we?”

Jumping slightly, Alex’s voice startling him, Dani looked around, the younger man shaking his brother, clearly panicking about the deep slumber of his sibling, “I don’t know.”

“I can’t wake Marc up… Marc! Marc!” Shaking Marc harder and harder Alex’s chest was gripped in fear, “He won’t wake up Dani.”

“I think…” Trying to put the pieces together, his brain still fuzzy and confused, Dani frowned, “I think there must have been something in the water.”

“Huh?” Looking around, Valentino and Jorge asleep on the other two beds, Alex’s eyes were wide, wild almost, in bewilderment, “They drugged us?”

“I think so,” Swinging his feet round, testing his balance before pushing himself up, Dani wandered over to the window, not completely surprised when he opened the curtains to find a wooden board nailed over the window, blocking both the light and the view, “It’s the only explanation.”

“Why would the police drug us?”

“I think…” Patting his pockets, cursing in annoyance as he realised his wallet and phone were gone, Dani turned to Alex, fear making his own face as pale as Alex’s, “I think maybe they aren’t really the police…”

“So who are they?” Panic making him want to vomit, noticing for the first time that the little toilet off the corner of their room had no door, Alex bit on his lip hard, “And what do they want with us?”

*

“It’s locked… Alex and I already tried.”

“Well I…” Jorge tugged on the wooden board, splinters piercing the skin on his fingers, “We can’t just sit here and wait…”

Dani shrugged, he and Alex having had an hour longer to get their head around the fact that the five of them were locked in the room, “I can’t see what choice we have.”

“Let’s think about this with the logic,” Valentino sat on one of the chairs at the table, nursing his right arm after standing up too quickly, thankfully experienced in injuries enough to be confident nothing was broken, “Why would they want us?”

“Money,” Marc, who’d been unusually quiet to the point it was almost creepy, moved to the table, his duvet wrapped around his shoulders, for some reason the men removing his hoodie when they took his wallet and phone and dumped him on his bed, leaving him feeling the chill, “We’re all rich…”

“It’ll be a big story. You four missing…” Alex bit on his nails, his elbows leaning on the table, wishing more than anything he was in Cervera getting a bollocking from his mother for both transgressions.

“The five of us will be a big story,” Patting Alex’s shoulder, ignoring the glare he received from the other three, Valentino smiled kindly, “So money and fame. No-one will pay money for us if we are dead so hopefully it is money…”

“Very reassuring…” Jorge glowered, his words almost spat at his older teammate, “Will one of you help me with this fucking window!”

Freezing as the sound of a lock clicking echoed around the room the five trembled as four more clicks, the door obviously heavily bolted, sounded loud in the room. Instinctively they all held their breath as the top half of the door was opened, like some sort of weird stable door, Tall Guy appearing in front of them, “Everyone alright?”

“No we’re not alright!” Fury making his eyes darken, Jorge surged forward, “What the fuck is going on?”

“Stay back.”

“Where are we? Who the fuck are you? Let me… Ow…” Landing on his back, the taste of coppery blood quickly filling his mouth, Jorge’s hand flew to his face, the punch catching him completely off guard leaving claret streaming from his nose, “What the fuck?”

“I told you to stay back,” Reaching down, something rustling as his hand moved unseen for a moment, Tall Guy lifted his arm back up, resting it on the top of the half door, the black gun in his hand making them all freeze, “You’ve probably guessed by now we’re not quite the average policeman…”

Swallowing hard, Tall Guy’s focus on him, Jorge shuffled backwards, stopping when his shoulders bumped against Marc’s legs.

“You don’t need to worry about anything. You just need to sit here quietly until the powers that be do what they need to do to get you back,” Dropping a plastic bag over the door, none of the five moving near it, Tall Guy grinned, his crooked teeth now adding to the sinister persona he was exuding, “Extra rations. Little brother was an unexpected bonus for us.... You’ll get dinner later on. You’ll be here for a while so don’t bother with the not eating game, it only hurts yourself. There’s no way out of here, the nearest house is twelve miles away and they are on holiday so even if you somehow did manage to get out there’s no-one to save you. One word of warning… We don’t shoot to injure. If you make us shoot you then we shoot to kill…. There’s a pack of cards and a scrabble game in the top drawer. Couple of extra blankets in the bottom one. Make yourselves comfortable. Oh, there’s a first aid kit in the middle drawer in case you want to sort big mouth here out.”

None of them moved an inch as the top half of the door was slammed shut, five loud clicks audible, each one making the situation feel worse.

“Come on Yorg,” Valentino got up, padding over to the rickety looking drawers, the middle one containing a first aid kit as Tall Guy had said, “Let’s clean you up.”

Hauling himself up from the floor Jorge scowled, snatching the kit from the Italian, “I’ll do it myself.”

“Imma trying to help!”

“Well your help I can do without!”

“Guys,” Dani intervened, his head pounding enough without a row between them adding to it, “We’re stuck in here and its shit, let’s not make it any worse.”

“Sorry Dani,” Jorge nodded, his tone genuinely contrite as he took a ball of cotton wool from the green kit to stem the flow of blood from his nose.

Valentino snorted, rolling his eyes, “Always do as Dani says eh Jorge?”

“Fuck you.”

“I’m sure you’d rather fuck Dani.”

“Can you not,” Tilting his head toward the two dumbstruck Marquez brothers, them looking between the angry trio in bewilderment, Dani’s face went bright red, his lips pursing in annoyance, “Just stop it.”

“Yes yes whatever,” Valentino flopped onto _his_ bed, furious with the situation and annoyed with Dani and Jorge, “Precious little Dani has to get his way.”

“Valentino…” Dani’s tone was sharp, a warning sound that neither Marc nor Alex had ever heard him use, them sharing another shocked look, obviously a story behind it that they were not privvy too, “Just quit it… So, they’re definitely after money then, yes?”

“Yes,” Jorge sat down at the table, the cotton wool pressed against his nose, “I wonder how much they are asking.”

“Worried about your bank balance?” Finding his voice, not liking the look of stress on Dani’s face, Marc chuckled, shrugging at Jorge’s incredulous look, “Come on, I’ve heard stories about your coffee machine, everyone knows you are tight!”

“This…” Jorge raised an eyebrow, determined not to give Marc any higher ground, no matter what the circumstance, “From the man who fucked girls in the back of his car rather than take them to a hotel?”

“Well,” Marc blushed bright red, that throwaway comment one that would haunt him for his whole career, “Well… Alex what _are_ you laughing at?”

His head down on the table, his shoulders shaking, tears streaming down his face, Alex shook his head, his voice stutter, “We’ve been kkkidnapped… We’re locked in a ssssmelly room by men with gguns and you aare sstill being compettttative… It’s llludicrous…”

Chuckling, mostly at Alex, the youngest of the five giggling like someone was tickling him, Marc shrugged, “Well…”

Laughing together, mostly at the fact Alex curled himself into a ball, rocking off his chair and onto the floor, _completely_ gone, the five caused much confusion to the two armed men guarding the door, tears expected, laughter throwing them completely.

*

“Well Gavin, I’m not really sure what we say today…”

“No, Nick I’m not sure either. It’s a very strange day here in the paddock. Yesterday, during the safety briefing, men stating that they were from Special Branch removed five riders from the paddock to a safe house. It has since emerged that in fact the riders; Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Marc and Alex Marquez, have in fact been kidnapped. At this stage no-one knows who by, or why, and no ransom demand has been made. The decision has been made to go ahead with the race, that was decided late last night. However, the stands are empty; no fans have been allowed in after the police decided this morning that it was just too risky given the few moments of panic in the crowd yesterday during qualifying. We were escorted in by armed guards and the riders will race in a, frankly, bizarre atmosphere with four of the top guys missing, while we all wait to see what happens next.”

*

Freezing as the door opened, ten clicks making them all look at each other, the group all held their breath as the whole door moved, Tall Guy and two of his cronies, guns in hand, appearing.

Pointing at Valentino, him closest to the door, Tall Guy crooked his finger, “You. Come with me.”

Looking nervously at the others first Valentino hesitated for a second too long, one of the cronies reaching in to grab him, his arm thumping across Valentino’s abdomen, making him double over in pain, “Do as you are told!”

Marching Valentino out of the room with him, the clicks seeming even louder as the door was resecured, the thugs left the four remaining riders looking at each other in panic, wondering if Valentino would return.

*

“The strangeness of this weekend continues Nick… We, and many other television stations, have just received an email containing a photograph of Valentino Rossi. As you can see on your screen now, Valentino looks well, he’s sitting on a sofa with a beer in his hand, like he hasn’t a care in the world… Again no ransom demand, no clue who has taken the riders, just one photograph...”

“This situation is **very** weird Gavin, very strange indeed… Right, the grid has formed up, Andrea Iannone is on pole on his Ducati, teammate Andrea Dovizioso next to him and then Maverick Vinales on the Suzuki in third place as they wait for the lights to go out in the strangest MotoGP race there has ever been…”


	3. Chapter 3

“What happened?”

“Are you ok?”

“Where did they take you?”

“Do you know where we are?”

“What did they say?”

Laying down on his bed, Valentino closed his eyes, his ribs and belly throbbing, “They took a picture…”

“Of?”

“Me…” Rolling his eyes at Jorge, Valentino touched his ribs gingerly, “I think he broke a couple… There’s some painkillers in that drawer, could someone please?”

“Sure,” Marc got up from his bed, Alex curled up at the bottom of it, their bed the closest. Taking the box of ibuprofen, he handed it to the Italian, “There’s a glass in the bathroom if you want some water?”

“I’ve got some coke left…” Reaching awkwardly under his bed, Valentino rolled onto his side, popping two pills from the packet, swallowing them down before putting the can back down, looking up at the other guys, “These guys, the ones who have us… They are fucking weird…”

“What do you mean?” Dani sat up on the edge of his bed, nervously picking at the cuff of his hoodie, “Did they hurt you?”

“No,” Valentino shook his head, completely bewildered by the actions of their captors, “They gave me a sandwich, got me to sign some posters and then they took a photo of me holding a beer…”

Jorge frowned, wondering what his irritating teammate had missed out, “And?”

“And then they brought me back…”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“They didn’t mention anything?”

“Nope.”

“No clues as to why they took us?”

“None.”

“Nothing? At all?”

“Jorge,” Valentino clasped his hand to his ribs, “That’s it. That’s exactly what happened…”

Jorge crossed his legs, the frown on his forehead deep, “Well that’s fucking weird.”

“Completely bizarre.”

*

“Jorge,” Alex smiled, his most polite smile, rather nervous at the request, but ready to thump Jorge if he didn’t stop, “Please can you stop pacing?”

Glowering at the younger man, then softening his look when he reminded himself that Alex wasn’t the kidnapper (nor was he Marc, Jorge stopped, his tracking up and down the floor annoying himself as well, “I need to keep moving, I need a piss and if I stop…”

“There’s a toilet…” Valentino pointed, his tone downright sarcastic, “…over there…”

Turning to Valentino, contemptuous look on his face, Jorge rolled his eyes, “There is no _door_ …”

“I promise I won’t look…” Equally sarcastic Valentino sighed, bored of Jorge’s dramatics over the years, “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Choking on his drink Marc held a hand up in apology, his face almost as red as Jorge’s, “Sorry.”

“Why don’t we make an agreement?” Ever the peacemaker Alex smiled, “When someone is in the bathroom everyone looks away?”

Backing up his brother Marc nodded, “Fine by me…”

“Yeah whatever,” Valentino shook his head, feigning disinterest, muttering to himself, “Nothing much to see anyway…”

“You…” Turning to Valentino, ready to thump him, Jorge glared, stopped only by Alex jumping into the middle of them, “Fuck you Rossi, fuck you.”

“Whenever,” Rolling onto his belly on his bed Valentino smirked at Jorge’s anger, his face red with fury, “Wherever…”

Storming into the bathroom, wishing more than ever there was a door to slam, Jorge yanked down his zip, forcing himself to not check on the others, trusting them, well three of them, sighing in relief as the sound of piss hitting the pan echoed around the room.

*

“Does anyone want to play cards?” Taking the cards from the drawer, feeling a bit like a spare prick at a wedding as the other four lounged on their beds, Alex shrugged as no-one agreed, taking the cards from the drawer and setting himself up at the table, “I’ll play with myself.”

“I’d watch that…” Unable to stop himself commenting Valentino smirked, Alex’s face going bright red, Marc cackling at his brother’s reaction, Dani joining in with a giggle stifled into a pillow, even Jorge giving in and joining the hilarity, they younger Marquez’s face crimson enough to heat the whole room, “Look, but not touch, eh Bambi…”

“I hate that nickname…” Alex grumbled, setting himself up a game of Patience, his cheeks burning, shaking his head as they all laughed even harder, realising he’d said the wrong thing, “I never fucking learn.”

“You need a better teacher,” Jorge winked, slightly regretting it, then not as the other three laughed, Alex going a glorious shade of red again.

“I feel like a should tell you off for flirting with my brother,” Marc laughed, shrugging his shoulders, “But it’s too much fun.”

“Could teach you a thing or two too…” Valentino drawled, stretched out on his bed, his t-shirt ridden up to show a bit of skin, before remembering that Marc wasn’t his friend anymore, “Or, I would have.”

Tensing, his tone clipped, Dani clicked his tongue, sarcasm dripping from him, “I’m sure he could find someone else, it’s not like you are a great loss…”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t have to look far to find a willing teacher,” Valentino bit back instantly, leering at Dani, “Although you take it _much_ better than you give it…”

“Fuck you.”

“Like I said, better the other way.”

“Ow!” Alex wailed, jumping from his seat, thumping his brother on the arm, “What the fuck was that for?”

“Just checking I was actually awake…” Marc shrugged at Alex’s incredulous look, “Have we walked into some weird alternative reality or something?”

“Depends on what you think is real…” Valentino ignored the glares and warnings from Jorge and Dani, looking at Marc, enjoying the dropping of the young champions jaw, “If the reality is that I had a relationship with Dani and he cheated on me with Jorge then it’s not alternative…”

“I did **not** cheat on you…” His jaw set, tense and indignant, Dani sat up, “I didn’t. And we agreed that anything that happened would stay between three of us…”

“You agreed that,” Sharp, obviously harbouring a deep bitterness, Valentino shrugged, “I agreed to have a relationship with you. Not you and Jorge.”

“You got over that years ago,” Jorge sighed, bored of his teammate’s histrionics, “We even hooked up **after** that... And Dani didn’t cheat on you. You know that.”

“You fucking did though…”

“Jesus Christ man…” Jorge shook his head, sitting him, the trio almost oblivious to the two stunned onlookers, “If you tell people you were casual, no-strings, no exclusivity and you fuck other people _more than once_ then you **cannot** bitch at them eight years later that they cheated on you… Because they didn’t… Because **I** didn’t…”

“I didn’t either…”

“Whatever,” Valentino shrugged, turning back to Marc and Alex, his look serious, “If you tell anyone I’ll finish you.”

“I’m sure, given that there are men with guns outside the door who have kidnapped us,” Jorge sighed exasperatedly, his eyes rolling, “…that’s not the scariest threat they’ve ever heard.”

“Fuck you Lorenzo…”

“Anyone for cards?” Alex smiled, the interruption polite, his brain whirring as he processed the information, mind blown several times over, the idea of Jorge and Vale being anything more than enemies unbelievable, Dani being gay a stunning though; something unexpectedly comforting in finding that his fear of being the only gay in the paddock being unfounded, “Fine… I’ll play my own game…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a really weird story. I don't know where it came from, and although I know where it ends I have no idea how it gets there yet lol. So thank you for humouring me with it :)
> 
> It's another escape and escape is good!

Yawning, Dani stretched out on his bed, "What time do you reckon it is?"

"It's late," Jorge nodded toward the window, the covering still firmly in place, "There was a tiny bit of light coming through there and now there's not so I think it must be dark outside..."

Pulling his hoodie over his head, Dani looked around, sighing, partly in boredom, partly in frustration, "I really thought... One night just seemed... I dunno..."

"You thought they'd come and get us today?" Marc nodded, agreeing, fear visible in his eyes, "Me too."

Kicking off his shoes, Dani puffed out his cheeks, rubbing his eyes, "I need to sleep... I know we said we wouldn't, but..."

"They gave us dinner," Alex smiled, stretched out on Marc's bed, "And when they took Marc to take the photo they didn't hurt him... We could take sleeping in shifts, but..."

"We shoulda sleep," Valentino nodded, as if being the eldest let him make the decisions, "We sleep and then if it kick off tomorrow when the police come we will have some energy."

"Do you think the shower works?" Marc peered through the dim light into the tiny bathroom, no curtain around the shower, but the thought of being clean tempting, "Could be cold though... I'm going to sleep as well. I think the adrenalin has worn off."

"Do you think we should turn the light off?" Jorge pondered allowed, half hoping they'd all say no, "To sleep?"

"I'd rather keep it on..." Shrugging at his brother's low chuckle, Alex copied Dani and kicked off his shoes, "I'd rather see them coming and I'm not ashamed of that..."

"I'm with you actually," Jorge shrugged at Vale's laugh, "I was only asking to be polite."

"Are you two ok sharing?"

Laughing hard at Dani's question, a genuinely innocent question, Valentino stepped out of his bed, meandering to the bathroom, "Your chat up lines are shit Pedrosa."

"Really?" Dani rolled his eyes, sliding off his jeans, deciding he'd feel cleaner if he slept in just his boxers and t-shirt, waiting until the sound of Vale pissing echoed around the room, "They fucking worked a treat on you though..."

*

"You ok?" Whispering across the pillow, Marc bit his lip, guilt at his brother being there with them knawing at his stomach, "I wish I hadn't said anything..."

Alex laughed, softly, the light snuffles and snores of the other three filling the air, "You thought you were taking me away from a threat. If you'd have left me there I'd have been pretty pissed off..."

"True," Moving his feet, trying to get warm in the cold, damp room, Marc sighed, lifting his hand to rub his temple, "Do you think Mama is ok?"

Nodding, completely understanding his brother's fear, Alex smiled, "Mama will be fine. She'll be banging on doors until someone gets us out of this place."

"They will..." Marc smiled, glad when Alex nodded, aware he was supposed to be the older one, "Tomorrow."

Tucking the duvet tighter behind Marc, cocooning them together, Alex made sure his voice sounded reassuring, "Tomorrow."

"Night Alex."

Closing his eyes, pretending to be asleep until Marc drifted off, Alex tried to keep his breathing slow, fighting the wave of panic in his chest, terrified more as each minute passed, until sleep, finally, did take him.

*

 Rolling onto his side, the noise of someone moving waking him from his unrestful slumber, Dani scolded himself, remembering the promise they'd all made each other. Clsoing his eyes, determinedly not looking, he froze when he heard a small cough, unmistakedly Marc. Curling his toes, trying to keep his breathing even so not to give himself away, Dani silently cursed, unable to stop himself thinking about all the times in his life he'd been unlucky; injuries, titles, partners, spectacular looking teammates with a gloriously thick looking cock... Screwing his eyes shut he turned onto his other side, his cheeks bright red, slightly ashamed of himself for peeking, praying he'd drift off to sleep soon, and not dream about Marc.

*

Getting out of bed, rubbing his leg, his brother having kicking him for the fifth time, Alex grumbled in exhaustion, "For fuck's sake..."

"You ok?" Leaning up on one elbow Jorge frowned, bleary eyed with sleep.

Holding his hand up in apology, Alex blushed, feeling bad for disturbing the older man, "Marc's like a fucking octopus in his sleep. I can feel the bruises already."

"It figures that he'd be fucking annoying," Jorge smiled, tilting his head toward the bottom of his bed, "I sleep on my side and once I'm asleep I don't move, we can top and tail if you want?"

"Well," Alex bit his lip, still feeling like the intruder in the group, despite the ridiculousness of that, "I don't want to put you out..."

"We've been kidnapped by armed men," Jorge laughed softly, Alex surprised by the chuckle, not one he'd ever heard from the Mallorcan before, "My weekend is not going to be made any more shit by having to share a duvet!"

"Fair point," Alex laughed, before yawning, glancing back at Marc, sprawled out on his stomach, taking up the whole bed, before looking back at Jorge, "Sure you don't mind?"

"Wouldn't have offered if I didn't mind."

"Thanks," Climbing over Jorge, putting himself next to the grubby wall, Alex tentatively stretched out, his bones achey with exhaustion, "Night Jorge."

"Night Bambi."

"Fuck you."

"You _really_ want to go down that road again?" Jorge chuckled, Alex joining them, both of them trying to stifle it so as not to disturb the others.

Shaking his head, still half wondering if he was going to wake up soon and explain his weird dream to Marc, Alex sighed, "I really need to learn to think before I speak. One of these days I'll end up in right bother."

"You will," Jorge agreed, laughing softly as he curled down onto his pillow, drifting off to sleep thinking about all the trouble he'd happily get the attractive younger man into.


	5. Chapter 5

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Bleary eyed and half asleep Jorge frowned, covering his head with his arm, “Go ‘way.”

“I will not,” Tugging on the blanket, shaking his head in furious outrage Marc fumed, “Just what the fuck…”

Opening his eyes, Alex sat up at the bottom of his bed, hair ruffled and yawning, Jorge cursed, “You kicked him…”

“I did not…” Marc froze, all of them turning toward the door, the sound of locks clicking and low murmuring voices capturing all of their attention.

“Morning,” Tall Guy smiled, like someone who was having a very good day, “Get dressed. We’re going on a trip…”

*

“Ow… Fuck…” Toppling over, his hands secured together at the wrist by cable ties, the plastic biting uncomfortably into his skin, Valentino smiled gratefully as Alex managed to shuffle enough to right him, “Thanks.”

Wincing as they went over another bump, the five of them bundled into the back of a windowless van, Marc swallowed hard, hoping his voice didn’t crack completely, “Where do you think they’re taking us?”

“No idea,” Dani fidgeted, the cable ties horrible for them all, before leaning toward Marc, their shoulders bumping lightly, “Try not to worry. We’ll deal with it somehow.”

*

“Welcome…” Grinning, his crooked teeth yellowing, Tall Guy gestured to the open door, the van having stopped after five hours of twisting and turning, all of them bruised from bumps in the road, “Take your time gentlemen… I have all night…”

Stepping out, almost toppling due to having no use of his hands, Jorge looked around, momentarily considering making a run for it, but then remembering the gun strapped to Tall Guy’s waist, most of what was around the ramshackle old farmhouse hidden by the dark night sky, before having no choice, but to follow one of Tall Guy’s colleagues inside, a new crumbling old building their home for however long.

*

“Well…” Looking around the room, it bigger than the previous one, maintenance still obviously not high on the agenda, Dani shrugged, “It’s better than the last one…”

Rolling his eyes sarcastically, still in pain from his ribs, that added too by cut wrists, Valentino sighed, “Yes, as kidnapping goes this is wonderful…”

“Have you got anything better to say?” Pushing his hands into his pockets Dani shook his head, bored of Valentino’s barbs, “Only you could make being kidnapped by gun wielding psychos worse.”

“There are only three beds…” Interrupting the bickering, Jorge stood at the other end of the room, transfixed by the three brand new double divan beds, the plastic wrapping still on the mattresses; sheets, sleeping bags, pillows and towels piled in a bundle on one bed.

“What?” Spinning around, moving to Jorge’s side, Dani sighed, almost defeated by the hopelessness of the situation, “Oh for fuck’s sake…”

“Right,” Alex patted Dani’s shoulders, his brow furrowed in thought, “There are two sofas. So we’ll have a rota system… Two different people can take the sofa each night.”

“You think we’ll be here long enough for that?” Marc swallowed hard, rocking softly from side-to-side, openly showing the fear they all felt, “That’s like, another three nights…”

“I don’t know,” Alex shrugged, reaching around to wrap an arm around his brother’s shoulder, “But I think we might as well have a plan… He said we were to make a shopping list to last us a week from that booklet thing... I think we should get on with that now; ask for enough stuff too last and just hope we don’t need it. Better that than assuming we won’t be and then running out…”

“Are you sure you are the younger brother?” Marc smiled fondly, bumping Alex’s shoulder, “I can’t cook and I’m shit at shopping…”

“Me too,” Valentino shrugged, unashamed, “I have staff.”

“Ok,” Taking charge, not wanting to leave everything to Alex, Dani nodded to Valentino and Marc, “Why don’t you two sort the beds? Jorge, can you go through the cupboards and the fridge and see what we’ve got for tonight and Alex, you want to help me sort the shopping?”

“Yep…”

*

“How many pans do we have?” Alex looked up from the list, the basic essentials of bread, milk, butter and fruit on the list already, grimacing when Jorge held up two large pans, the four cupboards in the tiny kitchenette only containing six each of plates, bowls and cups, one huge mixing bowl, two medium mixing bowls and the two held up plans, “That narrows down the options a bit…”

“Let’s make a pot of soup; we can have that for lunches and we can put it into that huge bowl in the cupboard…” Dani’s suggestion was greeted with nods from Alex and Jorge, “So potatoes, carrots, swede, onions and celery… And some stock cubes, they’re not as good as fresh stock, but…”

“Needs must…” Alex proffered, shrugging his shoulders, the seriousness and ridiculousness, of the situation really beginning to bite, “What about we get a big bag of pasta and a whole chicken. We can have the chicken with some of the potatoes and veg, then we can use the leftover bits in a sauce with pasta?”

“Good shout,” Writing it down, Alex flicking through the weird brochure, obviously for some sort of rural delivery company, Dani looked up, “Maybe some mushrooms?”

“Yeah,” Turning the page, Alex showed Dani the page, “Some mince? Maybe get some tomatoes and then we can have a sort-of bolognaise?”

“Yep.”

*

“We forgot soap…” Sitting on one of the sofas, the shopping list long since collected by Tall Guy, Dani rested his head on the back of the sofa, exasperated and annoyed with himself, “How could we forget soap?”

“Because,” Jorge put his hand on Dani’s leg, squeezing softly, his voice reassuring, “You had to finish the list with two guys standing behind you who had guns in their hands…”

“I want to go home,” Pulling his knees up to his chest, his shoes kicked off, Dani wrapped his arms around his legs, rocking slowly, tears pooling in his eyes, “I’m so scared.”

“Hey,” Pulling Dani into a hug, the smaller man’s head tucked under his chin, Jorge closed his eyes, praying he’d sound remotely strong, not feeling it at all, “We’ll be ok. They’ve moved us, they’re bringing supplies… We’re going to be alright…”

“What do they want with us?” Wimpering, oblivious to the other three on the other sofa, all of them sympathetic, the fear running through all of them, Dani clung onto Jorge’s shirt, tears dampening the material, “I want to go home.”

*

“If no-one minds I’m going to have a shower?” Alex stood up, grabbing a towel, the bathroom door removed again, but this time the shower curtain left in place, “Cheers.”

With Dani having cried himself to sleep already, and Marc curled up on his bed; Valentino and Alex taking first duty on the sofas, Jorge and Valentino steadfastly didn’t look at each other, sitting on opposite sofas, both able to hear as Alex padded to the bathroom, his clothes dropping onto the tiled floor, then the sofa sound of water, the knowledge that the younger man was naked just feet away invading both of their brains.

“I’m going to bed…” Scurrying to his bed, his jeans and t-shirt quickly shed, Jorge shuffled into his sleeping bag, glad that the lighting in the new place was two fold – one exposed bulb over the kitchen and lounge area on, the second over the bed area off – allowing him a little bit of privacy as his tented boxers hid very little.

*

**Statement Regarding Kidnapped Riders**

This evening, three nights since the kidnapping of five of our riders, Dorna Sports, have received a communication from the group responsible. The group have declined to state their reasons at this moment, but have issued a demand for an interim ransom payment of E50,000,000. As we have been advised by the authorities, Dorna Sports will not be paying a ransom. Instead we demand the immediate, and safe, release of five men who have been deliberately and cruelly snatched from their families.

 


	6. One Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is darker than the rest so far...

“Clothes…” Dumping a pile of clothing on the table Tall Guy pointed to the kitchen counter, his colleague dumping a load of bags, “The rest of the shopping you were crying about forgetting to order…” Grinning demonically he nodded, “Yes, we hear _everything_ you lot say in here… Someone will bring some exercise mats tomorrow… Who wants to volunteer to come for a little walk with me?”

Looking amongst each other, the five all swallowed hard, before Alex, somehow the bravest of them all, stepped forward, “I will.”

“No!” Marc shook his head, frantic with worry, “I’ll go.”

“Two for the price of one…” Grinning, like an honorary Marquez, Tall Guy motioned for them both to stand, “Hands behind your back and follow me… Remember…” Lifting the gun from its holster on his hip he turned his voice serious, “One wrong move…”

*

Sitting side-by-side on two chairs, their hands secured behind their back with cable ties, the brothers swallowed hard, the camera set up in front of them. Tall Guy and a girl, unexpectedly pretty for a hostage taker, stood behind it, Tall Guy obviously in charge, “You may begin.”

“Dorna Sports received a ransom demand for us,” His voice stuttering, something unsettling about being in front of the bright light shining on their face, Marc blinked, “Without any discussion or negotiation Dorna said no to paying anything.”

Looking at each other, their eyes welling up as a hooded man walked in front of them, blindfolding them, Alex first and then Marc, the brothers felt the panic swell in their chest.

Moving in front of the camera Tall Guy grinned, “Dorna Sports know why their riders have been taken…” Taking his gun from his holster, pointing it at the camera, he sighed, “And despite that they’ve chosen not to co-operated. I think they think we’re not serious, but we are…”

Touching Alex’s head with the gun, the younger brother whimpering in his bonds, before moving it to Marc, the elder brother frozen with fear, tears dampening the inside of the blindfold, Tall Guy frowned, “Eenie meenie miney mo, Which Marquez brother should be the first to go?”

*

_“Eenie meenie miney mo, which Marquez brother should be the first to go?”_

Clutching her hand to her chest Roser wailed, the screen going dark as a shot rang out.

_“Tell them to pay up or you’ll have to funerals to organise…”_

*

Pushing the brothers through the door, still blindfolded and tumbling to the ground, both of them hysterical, Tall Guy chuckled, “Night guys.”

“No, no, no, no, no…” Rocking back and forth, almost fighting Jorge as he tried to pull off the blindfold, Marc began to hyperventilate, “Gunshot, shot, shot, gun, Alex, gun…”

Freeing Alex from his binds, Valentino cursed as he found himself pushed aside, “What the?”

“It’s ok,” Grabbing Marc’s face, probably hard enough to bruise, Alex began to weep, “I’m ok. You’re ok. We’re ok. It’s ok.”

“It’s ok?” Blinking a few times to adjust to the light Marc felt relief sweep through his veins, grabbing onto Alex’s arms, “You’re ok, you’re ok.”

“I’m ok,” Hauling his brother into a hug, the other three looking at each other in concerned confusion, Alex closed his eyes, “They fired the gun…”

“What?!” Dani looked at the two brothers, glancing at the blindfold, realising that each had thought the other had been shot, his stomach lurching, “Jesus Christ.”

Moving closer to Jorge, each having a subconscious need to be close to each other, Valentino ran his fingers through his hair, “Who are these people?”

“Dddorna refused to pay a ransom…” Sitting up, Alex curled on his lap, baby brother’s bravery all, but ran out, Marc shook his head, “Why would they do that? Why wouldn’t they just pay?”

“Alex…” Getting onto his knees, Jorge cupped Alex’s face, the younger man breathing too fast, panic setting in, “You need to slow your breathing mate. Slowly… In… And Out… In… Breath with me, and out… Alex, slow it down mate. That’s it. In… And out… In…. And out…. In….. And out…. That’s it. You’re safe now. You’re ok. Marc is ok.”

“Thanks,” Catching his breath, his skin clammy with sweat, Alex felt his pulse slow, his heart no longer threatening to break out of his chest, “You’re not half as much of a dick as they say.”

“Thanks,” Jorge laughed, smile genuine, “You ok?”

“Yeah,” Nodding as Jorge took his hands away, Alex wiped his face with his hand, “Does anyone mind if I have a shower? I know the noise is annoying.”

“It’s fine,” Dani smiled, reassuring and kind, “You go have a shower and I’ll make us all some food.”

“Thanks,” Getting up, Valentino helping, Alex steadied himself for a second, before looking at Marc, “Marc?”

“I’ll sit on the loo as long as you close the curtain…” Marc smiled, hauling himself to his feet, “Come on…”

*

“Hey hey come on…” Stepping under the water, ignoring the fact he was fully clothed, Marc wrapped Alex in a hug, his brother crumpled to the floor in tears, “Alex? Talk to me?”

Whimpering, alternating with heaving sobs, Alex looked at Marc, his eyes wildly wide, “Mama… They are going to show that to Mama… What if she thinks?”

“Fuck…” His voice merely a whisper, Marc reached for the shower controls, killing the water, “Come on, you’ll catch a chill.”

Letting his brother guide him out of the bathroom, oblivious to being walked across the living area totally naked, Alex sat on the end of the bed, barely noticing Valentino and Jorge fussing around him and Marc with towels, Dani barking orders from the kitchenette.

“Lift your feet…” Desperately trying to keep his eyes above waist level Jorge pulled a pair of boxers onto Alex, before reaching for a t-shirt, “Hands up… Ok, sort your boxers… Alex…”

Tugging the boxers over his arse on autopilot, Alex looked at Jorge, his face sad, “Can someone share with me tonight?”

“Sure,” Jorge smiled, trying not to yell ‘yes please’ at the chance, “We’ll sort that out later.”

“Thank you.”

*

Sitting at the table playing cards, Marc, Alex and Dani fast asleep, Jorge sighed hard, “Next shopping order we order beer. Lots of.”

“We shouldn’t be drunk,” Valentino disagreed, shaking his head, “We should be alert and ready.”

“Alert and ready to guys who can hear our every word?” Jorge shook his head, huffing, “If they are going to do that then I’d rather have a beer thanks.”

“No…” Turning restlessly Alex mumbled in his sleep, “Nononono…”

Out of his seat intantly, Jorge put his hand on Alex’s shoulder, “It’s ok Alex… Ssh…”

“No please, no please please no…”

“Alex,” Shuffling onto the bed, Jorge ignored Valentino’s smirk, Alex’s eyes flying open, the younger man shaking in fear, “It’s ok. It’s just a bad dream.”

“They had a gun…” Wide-eyed and ranting Alex swallowed, his hands trembling, “They shot Marc, they shot him and I had to watch and…”

“Ssssh…” Wrapping his arm around Alex’s shoulder, the younger man curling into his chest, Jorge willed his cock to behave, “It’s alright. Everything is alright.”

“It’s not really…”

“Well no, it’s not,” Jorge smiled running a hand through Alex’s hair, watching the youngest, noticing the spot that made him close his eyes and relax, focussing on that, “But you are ok just now.”

“I’m so tired…”

“Then go to sleep.”

“But I…”

“I’ll stay here.”

“Thanks Jorge.”

“No problem.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter. Again, they have been kidnapped, the kidnappers are not nice... Please remember the warnings.

“I don’t care about the danger to future riders,” Hands gripping the table, her knuckles white, her eyes furiously burning into the soul of the man sat opposite her, Roser shook her head, tears and heartbreak having been taken over by furious anger, “It is **three** days since one of my boys… Since one of them… _Since_ … Since one of them was probably killed… I don’t care about **anything**. You just get me my boys back, dead or alive, you get me them back so that I can take them home.”

*

Sitting at the table, opposite Alex, Valentino pointed to one of the cards, teaching the younger man a game, “So that one move to there… Like that…”

“ _Right_ …” Alex nodded, moving another card, then a second, smiling, “Like that?”

Shaking his head, laughing hard, Valentino cursed, “Fucking Marquez… You could let me win the first game at least.”

“You wouldn’t like it if I just gave it to you…” Alex blushed the second the words came from his mouth, Dani and Jorge snorting with laughter as they prepared dinner, Marc, thankfully, in the shower.

Looking Alex up and down, Valentino winked, enjoying the redness on the face of youngest, “One day that mouth of yours will get you into big trouble…” _One can hope…_

*

“Sorry…” Rushing to sit at the table, the routine of eating together set up by Dani, enjoyed by them all, Marc, his hair still damp and mussed from the shower, smiled, “Thanks Dani… So, what did I miss?”

Chortling, Alex’s face turning crimson, Valentino shook his head, “Nothing much. Just little Alex here giving people ideas by saying the wrong thing...”

“You _really_ need to stop flirting with people,” Laughing, the five of them getting more and more used to each other’s company, Marc shook his head, Alex looking down at his plate, “He’s a nightmare!”

“You are hardly innocent of that…” Jorge turned to Dani, amused look on his face, putting on a higher pitch voice, “ _Your exhaust was **so** impressive…_ ”

“Well…” Marc stuttered, biting his lip, before laughing, conceding the point, grumbling at Jorge, “I was hoping you hadn’t picked that up…”

“We’re five guys locked in a room. At least three of us like men…” Dani shrugged, his guard well and truly down, partly because he trusted them, partly because he didn’t think they’d get out of the situation alive, “So it’s hardly surprising after all this time in close proximity that some comments are being taken in a certain way…”

“Well I…” Faltering, the click of the lock making them all hold their breath, Marc turned to Alex, serious look on his face, big brother voice in place, “I love you.”

Alex nodded, both of them beyond convinced that at some point, either deliberately or by accident, someone would be shot, reaching to squeeze Marc’s hand, “Love you too.”

“Evening gents…”

*

Sitting side-by-side, their hands secured to the back of the chairs, the two Yamaha riders looked at each other, the initial ‘Marc and Alex were fine…’ confidence slowly slipping away as Tall Guy loaded bullets into the gun in the corner of the room, the sounds echoing around.

“I didn’t you know…” Jorge swallowed, honesty important to him, the events of years ago having been an issue between them ever since, “I **really** didn’t.”

Valentino nodded, knowing in his heart neither Jorge nor Dani betrayed him, his anger unfair given how he’d treated them both, “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

Biting his lip, Valentino hung his head, shame on his face, wetting his bottom lip with his tongue, “Jorge… About Ricky…”

“Now then,” Standing in front of them, the gun glistening in his hand, forcing Jorge’s attention away from Valentino, the Spaniard desperate to know what the Italian was about to say, Tall Guy smirked, “Smile for the camera boys…”

*

Watching the video Lin’s face paled, the impact on Yamaha bad enough so far, the idea that one of their riders… Throwing up on his feet, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, before picking up his mobile, tapping impatiently on the desk as he waited for the call to connect, “It’s Lin… Your bosses and mine need to get together, this can’t go on… Yeah another video… Jorge and Vale… Yeah same… One shot… Somebody needs to do something… Yeah, call me back.”

*

“Hey…” Putting his hand on Jorge’s shoulder, the older man sitting on the end of one of the beds, still damp from the shower, towel wrapped around his waist, Alex smiled kindly, doing Jorge the favour of ignoring the frightened jump, “You need to get dried, you’ll get sick…”

“Yeah,” Jorge nodded, his brain miles away, “Thanks…”

“Dani is heating soup, it’ll he...”

“Hello again…” Throwing open the door, Tall Guy pointed to Dani and Marc, his two colleagues grabbing the two Honda riders, the atmosphere different, “Say goodbye…”

“No!” Starting forward, Alex froze as Tall Guy raised the gun, tilting his head, almost daring him to move, Jorge’s hand grabbing his arm, tugging him back, Marc’s face issuing him with a silent plea. Laughing, Dani and Marc being manhandled out of the room, Tall Guy nodded, “Better kid, better…”

*

“It’s getting dark…” The new window not as covered as the old window, able to tell the difference between night and day easier, Alex turned, Jorge and Vale at the table, Marc and Dani been gone for ages, “When will they bring them back?”

Beckoning Alex over, Jorge frowned in concern, “Come on, standing there all night won’t help.”

“I can’t just…” His eyes going wide, a gunshot echoing around the house, making him miss the noise of a vehicle driving away from the building, Alex took a shaky breath, “That’s just what they did before. It’s just…”

All three of them stopped breathing, their lungs burning as they looked at each other, eyes wide, Alex’s mouth slowly opening, the room silent for a few minutes before Jorge spoke, “It doesn’t mean anything… Maybe they just…”

“Two shots,” Wide eyed, Alex’s whole body began to tremble, adrenaline and fear running coursing through him, “They’ve never…”

Looking at the door, their hearts all racing as it clicked open, they all expected to see Marc and Dani walk back in, instead one of Tall Guy’s crew, not uttering a word, chucked in a bundle of clothes, before shutting the door, locking it behind him.

“What the?” Sharing a look with Valentino, Jorge frowned, confused, everything feeling eerily different.

Taking slow steps across the room, one foot in front of the other, like a shaky child playing tic-tac-toe, Alex found himself reaching down, touching the clothes, his breath coming out as a gasp as he let it fall to the floor, his fingers damp as he looked down at them, the world stopping for a second before he crumped to the floor, the red blood on the clothing staining his pale grey t-shirt, “NO!”

*

“I’m not hungry…” Lying on his side on the bed, still clinging to Marc’s t-shirt, Alex pushed Jorge’s hand away, “I don’t want a drink.”

Jorge nodded, unable to offer any platitudes, everything seeming hopeless, “Ok.”

“Please…” Reaching out, grabbing onto Jorge, Alex looked around, his wide eyes rimmed red and puffy, his breathing still slightly shallow, “I… I…”

Jorge smiled sadly, Alex’s hand clammy on his arm, “Ok, just give me a minute ok?”

“Ok…”

*

Leaving the lights on for Vale, his bladder empty and his hands washed, Jorge padded across the room, before toeing off his trainers and socks, pulling his joggers off, leaving himself in boxers and t-shirt. Grabbing a pillow from ‘his’ bed, he moved over to Alex’s, pulling the unfolded sleeping bag back before getting in, the younger man whispering a hoarse ‘thanks’.

“Night…” Following Jorge, Vale stripped down to his boxers, his bed cold, making him shiver, as he slid in. Reaching for the light he plunged the room into darkness, only the sound of breathing audible.

“Jorge,” Alex’s voice was barely a whisper as he rolled over, “Is it ok if I?”

Letting Alex curl into his side, the younger man’s head coming to rest on his shoulder, Jorge wrapped his arm around Alex’s back, his hand resting in the small of his back, Alex’s wrapping around his waist, his hair tickling Jorge’s nose, “It’s ok. Everything is going to be ok.”

“It’s not…” Alex’s body shook as he began to sob softly, fat tears splashing onto Jorge’s chest, his fingertips pressing into Jorge’s skin, hanging on, “It’s been hours… I think… I think… Marc and Dani… I think…”

“Sssh…” Closing his eyes, tears pooling in the corner, Jorge pressed a kiss to Alex’s hairs, the younger man openly crying, his heart breaking for the brother he adored, and for the hero he admired, “I know… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

“Marc…”

Hugging his pillow to his chest, Valentino dug his fingernails into his palms, tears streaming down his face, his heart breaking over Dani once again.


	8. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments. It's really pushing me on with this one. Very much appreciated.

Tumbling into the room, his hands freed, but his eyes still covered, Marc yelped as he crashed into a piece of furniture, ending up on the floor, his knees and palms grazed like a small child who’d fallen from his bike.

“Mmmarc?” Tentatively moving his hand toward his eyes, moving the blindfold, Dani felt his stomach lurch, no idea if Marc was hurt or not, both of them blindfolded before being moved around, the order of silence meaning only little noises confirmed the other was still there, “Are you ok?”

Pushing his blindfold away, Marc’s body sagged with relief, him and Dani both in one piece, relatively unscathed bar one nose bleed, “Where… Are we?”

“I think we are…” Looking around the room, the dingy room familiar, Dani shivered, not liking the distance that had been put between them and the other three, completely baffled, “Why would they bring us back here?”

Shaking his head, Marc went to the sink, wanting to clean the dried blood from his face, his own clumsiness causing the fall, the nosebleed quite spectacular. Catching sight of himself in the mirror, Marc froze for a second, before looking up, his voice showing nerves, “Erm, Dani?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re… Um…” Biting on his lip, Marc covered himself with his hands as he moved to the bathroom door, “We’re naked… They took our clothes.”

“Oh…” Looking down, the relief of being alive having taken his total attention, Dani shook his head sadly, “They’re really taking away everything, huh?”

“Not everything,” Marc shook his head, sensing it needed to be his turn to be the tougher one, “They won’t break us. Someone will find us… They will. My Mama won’t rest, and neither will yours.”

“True,” Sitting on the floor, Dani laughed sadly, figuring he had nothing left to lose, no guards needed, “All the times I thought about getting you naked… This wasn’t really what I had in mind.”

“Oh…” Marc bit on his lip, not uncomfortable, flattered, but just never having considered Dani in that way, "I..."

“It’s ok…” Dani picked himself up from the floor, moving to one of the beds, covering himself with a duvet, “I know you’re not… I’m long since resigned to that fact. I won’t…”

“I know,” Marc shook his head, the idea of not trusting Dani feeling ridiculous, making him laugh, “I trust you completely.”

“I might…” Going bright red, Dani screwed his eyes shut, “If I… I can't control... Sorry…”

“That’s alright,” Marc laughed softly, trying to bring back some of his spark, needing it to keep believing they’d be alright, “I know that you are gay, so I’d be a **bit** offended if my body had NO effect on you! Want a coke?”

“Please…” Smiling gratefully as Marc brought two cans over to the bed, sitting next to him, Dani looked around, laughing sarcastically, “I never thought I’d have a preferred venue for my own captivity…”

“Jaja, no, me either!” Marc shook his head, the first place they’d been held seeming even dingier since they’d seen the second, thinking about his brother for a moment Marc’s confidence faltered, “Do you think Alex is ok?”

“Yes,” Dani smiled, trying to be as reassuring as possible, “I think Alex is the most sensible, and the toughest, of all of us. He’ll be fine. Jorge will look after him.”

“Hmm,” Marc frowned, shaking his head slightly, “I’m sure he will.”

“Hey,” Dani scolded him lightly, “Jorge is a good guy. Yeah, he can be a knob sometimes, but we all can. For what it’s worth I think he genuinely likes Alex…”

“What?!” Marc’s voice was almost a squeak, his eyes going wide, “Alex isn’t… Well… I mean… He and Ri… I mean… Well... I... He...”

“Marc,” Dani chuckled softly, the sound brightening Marc’s mood, happy Dani somehow always contagious, “I know about Alex and Rins.”

“How?”

“Erm, because they had their tongues down each other’s throats’ at the gala. They obviously had no idea that the little alcove they were in was backlit…”

“Shit…”

“Don’t worry about it. No-one who would, or could, use it against them saw.”

“But I don’t think Alex is… Not completely…” Marc frowned, leaning back in thought, “I don’t know. He doesn’t like to talk about stuff like that. He’s really shy.”

“So is Jorge really,” Dani shook his head, voice serious as Marc settled back against the wall, the pair of them somehow managing to ignore the fact they were both naked hostages to chat normally, “Don’t laugh, he is.”

“I suppose I don’t really know him that well…” Turning to Dani, pulling a bit of duvet to cover his lap, Marc’s voice was laced with curiosity, “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Vodka mostly…” Dani laughed, tilting his head to the side, “How did I end up with Vale?”

“Yeah…”

“I don’t really know to be honest. We chatted here and there. We bumped into each other in the same club a couple of times. We both bemoaned the fact we had to be closeted in the paddock…” Dani sighed, his voice airy as he reminisced, “It’s wasn’t some grand romance… It was sex in a motorhome after a race. Or a blow job after a session. Just… Casual, not serious.”

“Vale seemed…”

“Vale is re-writing history because it suits him to do so,” His voice sharper, slightly look of hurt on his face, Dani shook his head, “You of all people know how quickly he can turn.”

“Yeah,” Marc nodded, regretting the fact his comment seemed to have upset Dani, “He does that.”

“He didn’t want more. I did, for a while. Until I remembered that he isn’t _Valentino Rossi_ … He’s just Vale. Vale who is late all the time, who cancels if he gets a better offer… Vale who is spoilt, and selfish…” Thinking back to the number of times he was left waiting, sat in his motorhome while everyone else was out partying, left hanging until it was too late to join in, that adding to his reputation of being stand-offish, or snobby, Dani pursed his lips slightly, “Vale got exactly what he wanted. He always made it very clear if someone came along that he liked, that he loved, then it would be over. I guess he just never anticipated that I would meet someone before he did.”

“He was probably mostly pissed that it was Jorge…” Marc chuckled, harder when Dani nodded.

“Oh yes… He was furious,” Dani tilted his head, almost resting it on Marc’s shoulder, his lips curling into an amused smile, “He said I broke etiquette by fucking his teammate…”

“Etiquette?” Marc shook his head, laughing softly, “Is there a paddock casual gay relationship etiquette guide?”

“Apparently so…” Looking wistful for a moment, Dani chewed on his lip, “Jorge was real… I loved Jorge.”

“What happened?”

“Too young. Too different. Too many demons…” Closing his eyes, trying not to remember the night he and Jorge had ended it, both of them curled up in Jorge’s motorhome, their long talk bringing them to the conclusion that they were going to tear each other apart if they stayed together. Splitting was the sensible option, staying away from each other was the only option and walking out of that door was the hardest option.

“Do you still love him?” Voice quiet, watching Dani’s face, his stomach turning at the sadness that crossed his teammate’s face, leaping at the moments where he smiled, Marc reached out, touching Dani’s shoulder, “Dani?”

“I had so many dreams back then… So many plans… Hopes… Things I wanted to achieve…” Dani looked at Marc sadly, shaking his head, “If we get out of here, don’t hold back on anything. Don’t not go to the party because your manager won’t like it. And don’t not have the beer because you have training the next day. And definitely, definitely, don’t end a relationship because you let the opinion of other people consume you… If we get out of here...”

“When,” His voice cracking, his mind going back to his brother, Marc shook his head, “When…”

“Ok,” Dani smiled weakly, not really believing they’d get home, “ _When_ we get out of here, live your life. If you don’t then one day you’ll be thirty, living in a place you don’t like, on your own, with none of your dreams achievable anymore…”

“Ok…” Nodding, saddened by the sadness on Dani’s face, Marc smiled, “When we get out of here do you want to go for a beer after practise one time? Just to see the look on Livio’s face?”

“Yeah,” Dani chuckled, the smile creeping back onto his face, “Yeah, let’s do that.”

*

“Jorge?”

Rolling over, Valentino’s soft snores filling the room, Jorge blinked, bleary eyed, “What’s up?”

“Can I share with you again? Sorry…” His head hanging low, unable to lift his mood all day, convinced his brother was dead, or at least seriously injured, Alex sniffed, “I just…”

Lifting the edge of the duvet, Jorge shuffled closer to the wall, making space for Alex, “You don’t have to ask. It’s ok.”

“Thanks,” Sliding into the space made, both of them in boxers and t-shirts, Alex sighed, “It would have been quick, right? I mean, if…”

Reaching out, pulling Alex into his arms, the younger man wrapping around him like he had octopus’ limbs, Jorge pressed a kindly kiss to his forehead, his voice dropping to a whisper, trying to not let their captors hear their conversations, not wanting them to pick on Alex’s vulnerability further, “I think Marc is fine. I think they are trying to fuck with our heads…”

“But…” Looking up at Jorge, his wide eyes begging, Alex’s bottom lip trembled, “When you get shot, it’s quick though?”

Swallowing hard, realising that Alex’s fear was two-fold, Jorge nodded, his heart breaking at the sadness in the younger man’s eyes, “Yes. It’s quick.”

“Promise?”

Hating making promises he couldn’t keep, Jorge bit his lip, Alex’s proximity starting to send blood south, Jorge realised that the younger needed his promise, “I promise. It’ll be quick.”

“Thank you for looking after me,” Leaning his chin up, bravery mixing with fear, Alex pecked a quick kiss to Jorge’s mouth, snuggling down against his chest after, unaware of the raging fire he’d started in the older man’s chest, his body shivering until Jorge wrapped him up tighter, pulling him closer, another night of restless sleep for them all.


	9. Chapter 9

“Msdfknf… No… No please…” Writhing in his sleep, the nightmare making his body tremble, Alex cried out, his eyes still shut, “Marc! Marc!”

Sitting up, Valentino still snoring, Jorge frowned for a moment, confused, before moving quickly, hauling Alex into his arms from the edge of the bed, “Alex… It’s ok…”

“Marc!” His scream almost blood curdling, waking even Valentino, Alex’s eyes flew open, his voice hoarse, panic in his veins, “Mmmarc…”

Rocking Alex slightly, wanting to vomit at the fear in his face, Jorge stroked the younger man’s face, his voice deliberately low, “Sssh… It’s ok. You are safe. You’re ok.”

“Marc’s not,” His lip wobbling, the tightness in his chest crushing him, Alex whimpered, clinging on to Jorge, fat tears splashing onto his chest, “Marc’s not.”

Pulling Alex tighter, the younger man on his lap, his side to Jorge’s chest, long arms around his waist, Jorge kissed his forehead, “Come on. We don’t know that. Sssh…”

“I don’t know what to do without him…” Devastated, Alex sobbed, the gulpy sounds echoing around the room, “I don’t…”

Closing his eyes, Jorge clung to Alex, tears streaming down his face as the younger man cried, bereft at the loss of his brother.

*

“You have to eat something.”

Pushing the plate away, Alex shook his head, almost silent all day, “Not hungry.”

“Alex,” Jorge sat down opposite the younger man, resting his hand on top of Alex’s, concern on his face, “You **need** to eat.”

“Not hungry.”

*

“You need to eat.”

“I don’t want anything,” Pushing the sandwich across the table, Marc shook his head, “I’m not hungry.”

“Marc,” Dani’s tone was firm, but supportive, both of them now oblivious to the nakedness in the room, “You must eat something. You need to keep your strength up.”

“Do think Alex is ok?” Biting his lip, Marc worried, his hands shaking, “I’m so scared Dani.”

“I know,” Giving Marc a comforting squeeze to the shoulder, Dani pushed the sandwich back over the table, “You need to eat. For Alex’s sake and your own, you **must** eat.”

*

“So we’re agreed?” Roser looked at the others around the table, “We’re paying?”

Maria nodded, “Yes.”

“Ok. I’ll tell the police. We’ll put it on tv if we have too…”

*

“What can I do?” Sitting down on the bed next to Alex, Jorge leant back against the wall, Alex curled up, lost in his thoughts, “Alex?”

Turning to the side Alex smiled, “When I was seven I wanted a dog… On my birthday I ran downstairs. There was a box… It was moving… I nearly cried,” Draping his legs over Jorge’s, Alex curled into the older man’s side, his voice wistful, “When I opened it… Marc had borrowed my cousin’s rabbit… To trick me…”

“That’s cruel.”

“He said it was revenge.”

“What for?”

*

“He was three, but he knew what he was doing…” Marc pouted, staring at the wall as he shared the memory with Dani, “I’d spent _hours_ painting it. I was super careful, staying in the lines and everything…”

“What did he do?” Stroking Marc’s hair, the younger man’s head on a pillow on his lap, lost without his brother, Dani watched his face, the conflicting emotions worrying him, “Is this helping?”

“Yeah,” Marc nodded, pulling the sleeping bag around him more, “He was potty training. Mama kept letting him run about with no nappy on. He didn’t like the potty so he kept peeing in corners. Mama said it was because Papa let him pee in a bush when we were watching a race… He peed on my picture… Mama said it was an accident because it was in a corner, but it wasn’t an accident. He was laughing…”

*

“It was an accident, Marc never ever believed that, but I just needed to go,” Alex blushed hard, suddenly locking eyes with Jorge, “I have no idea why I picked **that** story to tell **you** …”

Jorge smiled, something warm about being let into the inner sanctum of Marquez trust, even despite the circumstance, “It’s just a story.”

“Yeah, but I could have picked a less cringe worthy one to tell you.”

“It doesn’t really matter that it’s me, does it.”

“No,” Alex looked away, avoiding Jorge’s eye, “I suppose not.”

“Alex…”

“Please don’t,” Looking back, Alex shook his head, sadness on his face, “I’m so lonely, and so scared and I don’t know if that is why…”

“Why what?”

“You know what.”

“I don’t.”

“Please,” Dropping his voice to a whisper, Alex fidgeted uncomfortably, “Don’t make me say it.”

“Okay,” Jorge nodded, moving his head until he countered Alex’s avoidance, catching and holding the younger man’s eyes, “It’s ok though. I don’t mind. In fact I really don’t mind…”

“I…”

“It’s ok. It’s weird here. Everything is confused. You don’t have to say or do anything,” Jorge smiled, the warmth in it making Alex’s chest flutter, the sound of Valentino switching off the shower interrupting the intimacy of the moment, “Just… If you do… Want to say anything… Or do anything… Just know that you can. Ok?”

“Yeah,” Nodding, his lip sore from biting it too much, Alex blushed, Jorge’s eyes on him making himself conscious, “I know. I mean, now. I know now.”

“Good, I’m glad you know…” Smiling, Jorge shook his head, “Right. You need to eat something. No arguments Marquez, your brother will kill me if you starve…”

*

“Dani?”

“Yeah?”

Leaning up on his elbow, both of them in their sleeping bags, but opting for the same bed, something eerie about the place without the other three, “You know Lorenzo?”

“I’m vaguely familiar with him,” Dani chuckled, the sound unusually loud in the dark.

Pondering something, wondering if it was too nosy, Marc couldn’t hold back in asking, “Will it be… difficult… for you if he does something with Alex?”

“No,” Answer instant, confident and assured, Dani rolled onto his side, just about able to see Marc in the darkness, “I don’t love Jorge anymore. I did, but now I don’t. If he meets someone that makes him happy I’ll be happy for him.”

“They talked after Sepang. Alex and Jorge I mean.”

“I know,” Dani chuckled, shaking his head, “You had no idea that Lorenzo has had the hots for your brother, have you?”

“No,” Marc flopped back down on his pillow, the world weird, “If they get married then Jorge will be my brother-in-law… That’s weird.”

“If they get married Valentino’s fans will never believe there was no treaty…”

*

Sliding into bed next to Jorge, somehow feeling more self-conscious than the night before, Alex pulled the duvet up to his chin, “Jorge…”

“Yeah?” Rolling over, willing his body not to betray him, the lack of privacy making things very painful, Jorge reached out, able to see the sadness in Alex’s face in the dim light, his hand stroking the younger man’s face, “I hate seeing you sad.”

Alex nodded, shuffling closer, his hands resting on Jorge’s chest, “I hate that we’re here… But I’m glad you are here with me.”

“Ssh…” Freezing as they heard someone move outside the door, clinging to each other, Jorge held his breath, dreading someone coming in, only relaxing when they heard the laughing voices getting further away. Feeling Alex tremble in his hold, the younger man’s eyes wide with fear, Jorge leant in, instinctively pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, both of them looking startled as they pulled away, waiting to see if Valentino said anything, before breaking down in giggles as a grunted snore escaped the Italian. The ridiculousness of the situation making them both laugh until there were tears.

 


	10. Chapter 10

The dark hood over his head blinding him, and destabilised by the tight bonds around his wrists, he wobbled, the hard push on his back sending him crashing into the back of the van, hauled from the room wordlessly, but with brutal forced that had left him bloodied and bruised.

Listening to the engine start up, doors banging around him, he tried to find purchase with his feet, looking for something to brace against as the first movement of the van sent him flying toward a wall, no hands free to protect himself leading to a collision and bruises, the loud ‘oof’ heard by no-one.

*

Pacing the room, her fingernails bitten to the bone, Roser shook her head, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Come on love,” Julia patted the seat next to him, various relatives dotted around the room, the decision to pay ransom money dividing the families more than ever, “We just have to wait.”

*

His ears twitched as the van stopped, a door opening and closing, before a burst of cool air hit him, telling him the door near his feet had been opened. Yelping in fright as a hand closed around his ankle, he felt himself be pulled toward the door, unable to help himself as he was hauled out, the person pulling on him letting him fall to the ground, his shoulder crunching painfully as he hit what he assumed was the ground.

By the time he caught his breath again he realised that the van was moving, the sound drifting away from him, panic consuming his stomach as he tried to move, unable to see where he was or what was coming next.

*

Opening the door, irritated in the extreme by the decision to pay, the chief police officer’s tone was curt, “We have had a communication. Officers are on the way to the location now.”

“Are they alive?”

Shrugging his shoulders, unable to hide his displeasure at being overruled, “No idea. We will let you know when we can.”

*

Struggling into a sitting position, his time, possibly hours, on the ground giving him a few clues, he realised one of two things were happening; either someone was watching him and waiting to see what he would do, or he’d been abandoned somewhere, dumped, and he wasn’t sure which option was the most terrifying.

Tentatively reaching out with his feet, he turned himself in a circle and was satisfied it was safe to try and stand, no giant rocks were likely to knock him out. Tucking his legs under himself, he pushed onto his knees, steadying himself for a few moments before putting his right foot onto the ground, bracing himself to fall over as he pushed up, cursing loudly as he toppled over, his shoulder taking the impact again, his ankle throbbing as it twisted painfully under him as he hit the ground.

*

“You need to eat.”

Pushing the plate away he shook his head, “Not hungry.”

“We need to keep our strength up.”

Shrugging, disconsolate, “What’s the point?”

*

Trying a new tactic, he curled himself in a ball, tucking his head as close to his knees as possible before opening his legs, then squeezing them together as tightly as possible as he uncurled, hoping to try and catch the hood with his legs.

“Yes!” Achieving success on the fifth attempt, he looked around, his heart sinking as he realised he had been dumped, nothing around except fields and trees as far as the eye could see. Looking up at the sky, glad of the cloud cover which was keeping the temperature down, he shivered as he thought about the possibility of nightfall. Spotting a road, well, dirt track, in the distance he summoned as much energy as he could, pushing himself onto his knees and then trying to get himself up on his feet, only taking a moment to balance before heading in the direction of the track, desperate to find safety, or at least shelter, trying desperately not to think about the possibility of finding neither.

*

“We’ve found one of them…”

“One of them?” Julia raised an eyebrow, watching Roser, Basilia, and Maria cling to each other, he and Chicho’s fear coming true, Antonio sitting in the corner, quietly taking everything in as he always did.

“Yes,” The police officer nodded, “He was on the track near where they had said. He’s dehydrated, and he has concussion and a few other injuries, but he’s relatively ok.”

“What are you not telling us?” Instinctively knowing something wasn’t right, Roser shook her head, “It’s him isn’t it? It’s not one of our boys, it’s Rossi, isn’t it?”

“It is. I’m sorry…” Stepping back out of the room, wondering how that was going to impact on the determined group, the rows between the three families determined to pay and Valentino’s family, who’d been in agreement with the police not too, had been fierce and furious, and (thanks to a leak) very public, the captors obviously deciding to seize on that, clearly hoping for more money from the families who’d showed willing.

*

“Jorge?”

Lifting the duvet, both of them spooked by Vale’s disappearance, Jorge pressed a kiss to Alex’s forehead, the younger man slipping into the bed and wrapping around him, “It’s ok…”

“You keep saying that, but we both know it’s not…” Looking up, his wide eyes seeming even wider, and darker than usual, Alex’s voice carried a tone of brutal honesty, “We might not get out of here…”

Nodding, both of them reaching a level of acceptance, the way Valentino had been hauled out of them room showing them a new brutal side to their captors, Jorge closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to Alex’s, “I know…”

“I don’t want them to see…” Pulling the duvet up over their heads, Alex closed his eyes, his forehead touching Jorge’s, both of them stilling for a moment, waiting to see if someone would barrel into the room, something that occasionally happened if one of them was out of sight for too long.

Letting go of the held breath when no-one came, Jorge opened his eyes, his breath catching again when Alex did the same, their eyes locked together, Jorge’s tongue darting out to wet his lips.

“Do you love Dani?” Whispering, Alex closed his eyes again, not wanting to see Jorge’s face if he answered honestly that he did.

Shaking his head, Jorge reached out, his hands cupping Alex’s face, “No…”

Willing himself to stay silent, Alex couldn’t help the whimper as Jorge’s lips touched his, the gentle tenderness so at odds with the situation they were in, Jorge’s tongue flickering at his lip, asking for, and getting, permission to wander into Alex’s mouth, finding Alex’s tongue as the younger man’s hands found Jorge’s waist, pulling him closer as they melted together, forgetting everything bad for a while.

 


	11. Chapter 11

“How is Marc? And Dani?”

Looking at each other, concern mounting, the senior of the two officers raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, how are they?” Valentino looked between the two men, him having discharged himself from hospital against medical advice, determined to give the little information he had as soon as possible, “You did find them?”

Glancing up, hoping the others behind the one-way mirror recognised his ‘get a search party’ look, he frowned, “When did they leave?”

“Ages ago…” Valentino faltered, his heart sinking, hands beginning to shake, “Oh no… The gunshots… I though… I mean when I was there yes, I thought they were... but once I was out I thought… The same… But…”

“Valentino,” The kindlier faced officer caught Valentino’s eye, “Were Marc and Dani not with you?”

“No,” Valentino shook his head, “They came… I don’t know how many days ago. The window is boarded so sometimes night and day get muddled… They took them away. We thought it was a video at first… The fired the gun before… So we thought it was like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like pretend… Like, scaring us. When they made the video and then pretended to shoot.”

“So when the guns were fired in the videos no-one got hurt?”

“No,” Valentino shook his head, his stomach lurching, “The first time. Alex and Marc. They were terrified… Alex was so pale. He thought Marc had been shot and Marc thought Alex had been shot.”

“But neither of them had been hurt?”

“No.”

*

“Not shot?” Roser clutched her chest, the heartbreak of the boys not being released eased slightly by the news that one hadn’t been dead, and discarded like rubbish for days, “Oh…”

Turning to Maria and Chicho the officer smiled kindly, “No-one was shot in the video of Jorge and Vale either.”

“Oh thank god,” Crossing herself, Maria reached for Roser’s hand, Basilia smiling kindly at both of them, “What about Dani?”

“Well,” Hitting the moment he’d been dreading, the officer smiled as kindly as he could, “Valentino said that some days ago, he’s not sure how many because the window is boarded up, after they’d been moved to a second location, Dani, and Marc, were taken for another video recording…”

“There wasn’t another video, was there?” Frowning, confused, Antonio took his wife’s hand, “There was no video of Dani.”

“No,” The officer shook his head, “There was no fourth video… As had happened in the previous occasions they heard gunshots again, but this time no-one came back.”

“What do you mean?”

“Marc and Dani didn’t come back,” The officer sighed, “Valentino, Jorge and Alex have been there for at least three nights, he thinks, without Marc and Dani.”

Sitting back in his chair as heartbroken wailing broke out in the room, the officer shook his head, Antonio’s question hitting his ears, “I’m sorry, we have no idea where they are. We are searching for them in case they have been released like Valentino.”

*

“What do you mean you didn’t pay?!” Outraged, and insulted, Valentino shook his head, “Why the fuck not?”

“The police said not to pay!”

“So who paid?”

“The other families split it three ways…”

“Right, someone get me a laptop.”

“Why are you…”

“They need their money back so that they can pay for **their** boys.”

*

“We must be near a takeaway…” Breaking the silence, Marc getting more and more doleful as the days passed, Dani looked up, his fork in mid-air, “This food is hot. Not warm, but hot…”

Marc shrugged, convinced they were never getting to go home, “Microwave.”

“No,” Dani shook his head, “There’s a taste when food has been reheated. This is fresh. And it’s hot.”

“So?”

“So, you don’t get takeaways in the middle of nowhere… We must be near a town or a village at least…”

Looking up, Marc shrugged, “I don’t see how knowing we are close to civilisation helps in any way.”

“It doesn’t yet,” Dani stabbed a mushroom with his fork, wondering if there was any hope of escaping, the fact he believed in his heart they must be close to a town adding some hope to him.

*

“They’re not bringing Vale back, are they?” Alex turned, Jorge heating their meal, their shopping nowhere near as organised without Dani’s assistance, “It’s just us now.”

Stirring the pan Jorge shook his head, “No. I don’t think they are.”

“Do you think he’s dead?”

Jorge shrugged his shoulders, genuinely no idea of what was happening, “I don’t know.”

“I hope he’s not. He’s a knob, but…” Alex shrugged, both of them sharing a slight smile, trying to keep each other going, “Jorge…”

“What?”

“I don’t want to hide from the ghosts anymore…” Crossing the room, Alex put his hand on Jorge’s waist, “They are either going to kill us, let us go or someone is going to rescue us. I don’t think anything we do is going to play any part in that.”

Moving the pan from the heat, Jorge turned back to Alex, nodding in agreement, “I think you are right.”

“So, if we might be dying sometime soon…” Biting his lip, the thought of dying scary, but somehow something he was resigned too, Alex shrugged, before leaning in, pressing their mouths together, the kiss bruising, only ending when their lungs screamed for oxygen, “Bed?”

Nodding, food forgotten, Jorge walked backwards, latching his mouth to Alex’s again until they tumbled onto the bed, the duvet pulled over their heads as hands wandered, desperation creeping in as they pawed at each other, determined to prove they were still alive.

 


	12. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay!

“Six hundred and ninety-six… Six hundred and ninety-seven…”

*

“Nine hundred… Nine hundred and one… Nine hundred and two… Nine hundred and three…”

Marc stared at Dani, his glass of water halfway to his mouth, nakedness now just normal between them, “Dani?”

“Nine hundred and four… Nine hundred and five… Shut up for a minute… Nine hundred and seven…”

*

“Twelve hundred…” Dani peeled the lid off of the container, steam bursting out, the food hot, “From ‘What do you want?’ to having this food chucked at us was around twelve hundred seconds…”

Marc looked at Dani, seriously concerned the older man had finally snapped; taking his seat opposite Dani with a concerned look on his face, “Ok…”

“That’s twenty minutes,” Dani smiled, some sort of victory going on in his brain as he mixed up his chicken and mushrooms with his fork, a line appearing on his forehead as he was deep in thought, “Say ten minutes to order and get the food… That means five minutes there and five back. Even if you pre-order the food and that only takes six minutes that still means we are only seven minutes from somewhere with a takeaway…”

“Right…”

“There are no motorways nearby or we’d hear them,” Dani forked up a mouthful of food, chewing it quickly before his mouth started conveying his train of thought again, “So they can probably go at what? Forty miles per hour at most?”

Marc shrugged, that somehow making the situation worse, the idea of people being near making it harder, “So?”

“Seven minutes at forty mph means they are doing, at most, around five miles, roughly…” Dani nodded, digging his fork into his food, smile on his face, “I don’t know how we're going to do it yet, but we’re going to find a way to attract attention...”

*

“Hey! HEY! Help!”

Marc froze, Dani suddenly banging on the door startling him, “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Hello!” Thumping his fists against the door a few more times, no reply coming, Dani turned to Marc, his face triumphant, “There’s no-one here…”

Confused, Marc put his hands on his hips, trying to ignore the fact Dani’s cock had decided to get as excited as his face, “And?”

“I realised yesterday that after they feed us, there’s an engine noise and then it goes quiet…” Dani started counting in his head, trying to get a rough idea of how long they were left alone for, “I think this is when they go to the other house… Let’s say three minutes so far… One hundred and eighty-one… One hundred and eighty-two…”

*

“They’re back…” Sitting at the table, Marc with the pad and pencil they had for scoring card games, Dani looked down, “Four hours? Ish?”

Marc nodded, still not convinced it would help, but the determination in Dani’s face and voice making him want to believe, “Yeah… So, what do we do now?”

“We count tomorrow and see if it’s the same…”

Marc sighed in disappointment, “Shouldn’t we **do** something?”

“No,” Dani shook his head, determined, “We need to be sure first… And we need to make a plan.”

Marc puffed out his cheeks, half in frustration, half in renewed belief that something may go their way, “Ok. Ok…”

*

“You’re very quiet…” Dani rolled onto his side, he and Marc still sharing the one bed, each with their own duvet, “What’s up?”

Marc moved onto his side, facing Dani, the room dark, tiny glimmers of moonlight their only light, “Even if we are only a few miles from people; how can we possibly get their attention?”

“I don’t know yet,” Dani shrugged, his voice honest, “I don’t know how, or even when, but we’ll find a way.”

Shifting around, nerves always making him twitchy, Marc sighed, “What if we do escape? If they catch us…”

“We’ll have to make sure they don’t,” Dani’s tone was serious, grave almost, the furious yelling they heard between their captors, the men obviously frustrated that the ransom demand didn’t work as planned, “We can’t afford to be caught.”

“They’ll kill us…”

“Yes,” Dani nodded, Marc’s voice almost a whisper, the tone carrying the fear they both carried, “I think they would, but I think they might kill us if we don’t escape… They are getting restless, and angry.”

Marc nodded in agreement, his stomach clenching and flipping, “I know.”

“The shopping is less generous, they’ve turned the heating off and it’s been three days since the batteries ran out in the torch and they’ve still not given us replacements…” Dani sighed, seeking out Marc’s hand between them, lacing their hands together, “I think we have to do something before they do.”

“I do agree, it’s just…”

“I’m scared too…”

“It’s not that…”

“What is it?”

“It’s just…” Marc closed his eyes, tears threatening to spill, his voice cracking, “I’m scared what they’ll do to Alex if we succeed…”

“I know,” Dani squeezed Marc’s hand, tears pooling in his eyes, genuine fear audible in both of their voices, “I know, and I know that it’s a really shit decision for you to have to make, but if we get the chance to go we have to take it, Marc, we **have** to take it…”

Marc nodded, knowing in his head Dani was correct, his heart breaking at the prospect of his actions causing Alex harm, “Tomorrow we count again?”

“Yeah,” Dani shuffled onto his back, holding out his arm, giving Marc the chance to snuggle in, the closeness making Dani’s balls ache despite the inappropriateness of that given the situation, “Tomorrow we count again and if it’s the same…”

“The next day we run?”

“Yeah,” Dani kissed Marc’s hair, the younger man’s breath tickling Dani’s chest, his breathing calming as he relaxed, “The next day we run.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay!!

“No… Please, stop! Marc! Come back, please, please…”

Opening one eye, bleary from early morning confusion, Jorge frowned for a second, before instinct kicked in. Flipping round from his right side to his left, his arms reached out, pulling Alex to his chest, the younger man still asleep, but certain to wake in a few moments with a terrified gasp, his nightmare shattering the peace of sleep, “Ssh… It’s ok…”

“ _Please!_ ” Alex writhed, reaching out, his eyes still shut before his chest heaved and they flew open with a massive gasp of air leaving his chest, “Marc!”

Waiting for the inevitable; Alex waking like this each morning, just needing a few moments to compose himself, Jorge stroked his thumb over Alex’s hip, the touch soothing against the skin, “It’s ok. You’re ok.”

“Marc isn’t,” Turning, burying his face in Jorge’s chest, Alex shivered at the sudden realisation that they were both naked under the duvet. Looking up, his smile more coy than shy, the bulk of the fear and worry leaving his face, “Morning.”

Smiling, the corners of his mouth turning up instinctively when the fear left Alex’s face, Jorge stifled a whimper as Alex’s fidgeting body brushed against his morning erection, “Good morning.”

“Sorry about….” Alex’s voice trailed off, his shoulders shrugging as he pulled the duvet back up around his shoulders, protecting himself from the morning chill in the room, “I was just…”

Silencing the younger man with a kiss, just a peck on the lips, Jorge shook his head, one arm around Alex’s waist, “No need.”

“It’d be quick, right?” Alex bit his lip, hating the fact that he needed reassurance every day, “Sorry.”

Shifting them with a soft sigh, him onto his back, Alex curling in against his side, Jorge pressed a gentle kiss to Alex’s hair, “You don’t need to apologise… And yes, it’d be quick.”

“I keep dreaming that he suffers…” Alex screwed his eyes shut, his face contorting again as he recalled his dream, his fingers digging into Jorge’s skin as his brain was flooded with images of his brother, “He was in so much pain…”

“Don’t do this to yourself…” Reaching for Alex’s face, Jorge tilted it upward until their eyes were locked, shaking his head slightly, his concern for the younger man clear in both look and tone, “Marc **absolutely** would not want you to do this to yourself…”

“I know,” Alex agreed softly, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, “Jorge…”

“Sssh…” Drawing the younger into a soft kiss, slightly chapped lips against soft lips, lazy tongues roaming Jorge pulled against flush against his side, Alex groaning as his cock rubbed against Jorge’s side, Jorge rolled them, moving until he was over the taller, using his elbows and knees to balance himself over Alex, “Just forget for a while….”

*

“Please… Jorge…” Alex keened, Jorge over him, their bodies touching from shoulders downward, Jorge’s mouth nibbling on his neck, lavishing attention on a point that made him want to curl into himself, Jorge’s fingers in his hair, tugging just enough yet not too much, their cocks sliding against each other, sweat and pre-cum the only lubrication, “Fuck please….”

Scraping his teeth against Alex’s skin, the younger man clearly reacting well to the hint of sharpness, Jorge circled his hips, his knees keeping Alex’s legs spread, the younger man’s cock leaking against his belly as he rocked, Alex’s grunted sounds making Jorge’s balls twitch, “Sssh… You need to be quiet…”

“Trying…” Digging his fingers into Jorge’s back, the older man somehow blanketing him despite the height difference, Alex whimpered as Jorge’s right hand pushed between them, deft fingers finding, and wrapping around, his cock, “Oh god _please_.”

Catching his own cock in his fist, next to Alex’s, Jorge used their own slick to stroke them, watching Alex’s face as the younger man started to tumble; the tiniest hint of his nose twitching before his eyes rolled, everything tensing for a second before the look of bliss crossed the younger’s face, accompanying the stifled squeal, that pushing Jorge over the edge, his cum joining Alex’s in a puddle between them, accompanied by a loud grunt as he mashed their mouths back together, both needy for touch in the vulnerable moment of post-bliss.

*

Standing at the fridge, clad in just joggers, Jorge’s tone was downright sarcastic as he turned to Alex, “Would you like soup, soup, beans, or…. Soup?”

“Hmmm…” Sat at the table, equally clad in only joggers, Alex pretended to ponder seriously, “We’ve not had soup for a while….”

Nodding, wishing he’d prepared the shopping list better, Jorge picked up a carton of soup, “Soup it is…”

“After breakfast I think we should write the next shopping list so that it’s ready,” Alex laughed at Jorge’s disgusted face as he decanted the carrot and coriander soup into the pan, “And no soup on it this time!”

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

 “Same time?” Marc worried his lip slightly as they sat opposite each other, the Chinese takeaway food they were both thoroughly sick of barely touched, “That was the same time, right?”

Dani nodded, his brain hurting at the effort of concentration, “Yeah. Same time…”

“So tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Scooping up their food as he heard footsteps on the stairs, Dani dashed to the bathroom, hiding the fact their appetites had deserted them, before rushing back to the table just in time for the door opening and a glaring face looked around to check all was normal before slamming the door again, “Tomorrow…”

*

“You need to sleep…”

Jumping slightly at Dani’s voice suddenly hitting him through the darkness, Marc nodded, “I’m trying. It’s just…”

“I know,” Dani nodded, his hand reaching for Marc’s, their voices quiet through fear and nerves, “But we need our energy for tomorrow, so you must get some sleep.”

Fidgeting around, trying to get comfortable, Marc sighed, “My brain is just too busy.”

“You should…” Dani faltered, his suggestion suddenly seeming inappropriate given his inevitable reactions at seeing his teammate naked, “Well, I mean, it always helps me to sleep if I… You know…”

Giggling, hit at full velocity with the ridiculousness of the situation, Marc shook his head, “Never, did I ever…. Think that Dani Pedrosa would tell me to go and wank…”

“Sorry,” Dani blushed a furious shade of red so strong it was almost visible even in the dark, before succumbing to the giggles as well, “I can’t believe I said that!”

Rolling onto his side, trying to keep his crotch away from Dani, his cock reacting to the mere suggestion of a handsy touch, Marc sighed, “I haven’t gone this long without a wank since I was about twelve…”

“Me too…” Dani laughed, a snorting, ungracious sound that had him blushing again, “This is **not** what I expected my life to become…”

Marc chuckled, low and quiet (for him), “I bet. What did you expect?”

“I expected to get married, have some kids, win a couple of MotoGP titles and then retire…” Dani sighed, rolling onto his back with an exhale, “I realised the marriage and kids bit was gone a while ago… I met this Italian you see…”

“Pfft…” Marc almost yelped at the poke of a finger into his side, before rolling onto his back, mimicking Dani’s position, “I can’t believe _Vale_ turned you gay.”

“He didn’t turn me gay,” Dani chuckled, mostly at the idea of how much ego the Italian would get if that was the case, “I was always gay, I just used to kid myself that I was bi.”

“So…” Marc turned to Dani, a look of cheeky devilment on his face, quickly giggling at himself as he realised Dani couldn’t actually see it in the dark, “If you could turn any guy in the paddock who would you choose?

“I’m not playing this game,” Slightly sharp, Dani shook his head, “That way lies trouble.”

“I wouldn’t tell!” Slightly offended Marc puffed out his cheeks, hurt at the idea Dani didn’t trust him, “I know I talk a lot, but I am trustworthy.”

“I do trust you,” His voice slightly clipped Dani sighed, rubbing his temples with his hand, this a situation he’d tried to avoid since 2013, “It’s just not a game I like to play.”

“Why not?” Marc chuckled, desperate to rid himself of the horrible feeling in his stomach, the idea of Dani not trusting him terrifying him given their current predicament, “Is it someone hideous?”

“No.”

“Someone ugly?”

“No,” Dani sighed in irritation, “I’m not playing.”

“Is it someone _really_ boring?” Marc nudged Dani’s side, trying to haul the atmosphere back to jovial, “Ew it’s not Bradl is it?”

“No, it’s not fucking Bradl.”

“Well, at least give me a clue…”

“He’s **really** fucking irritating!” Dani snapped slightly, regretting it instantly as he threw back the cover, “I need a piss.”

“No-one is more irritating in the paddock than me,” Marc chuckled as Dani stomped across the room, before catching himself, Dani’s words slapping him across the face like the revelation of his life, “Oh…”

*

Shifting again, the hour since Dani came back from the toilet completely silent, Marc rolled onto his side to face Dani, “Dani?”

“What?” Resolutely facing away from Marc, Dani kept his eyes screwed shut.

Poking Dani on the shoulder until the older man rolled over with an extremely irritated ‘What?’, Marc sighed softly, “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I should have realised,” Marc chuckled, Dani’s low groan cracking the atmosphere between them, “I mean I am pretty amazing…”

“Fuck off Marquez,” Dani laughed, glad Marc wasn’t going to be the kind of straight guy who ignored him forever, “Can you go to sleep now?”

“Yeah,” On cue Marc yawned, leaning in to peck a kiss to Dani’s lips without a thought, “Good night Dani.”

“Night,” His lips on fire, Dani rolled onto his side, silently cursing the lack of sleep that action was going to give him.

*

Looking at the food on the table, both of them getting paler and trembling more as they waited what felt like a lifetime for the engines to start outside, Dani nodded to Marc, “You ok?”

“Yeah,” Feeling like he had a kaleidoscope of butterflies in his stomach, Marc fought the urge to vomit, knowing this was a case of win it or bin it, “You?”

Nodding, the silence loud and scary, Dani picked up the playing cards they’d taped up to make solid, “Right, you do the window and I’ll try and get the door open.”

“Good luck,” Marc smiled, picking up the spoons they’d taped together to make some sort of tool for prying the wood from the window, “Let’s do this.”

*

“Dani…” Marc hauled the older man into his arms, Dani sobbing his heart out, “Come on, we’ll try again tomorrow.”

Dani shook his head, failing in his task to get all of the locks open, both of them terrified their captors would realise why some of them were open, every ounce of hope lost, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I let you down.”

“You’ve never let anyone down in your life,” Picking up a bottle of water Marc took a long drink before pulling the duvet over them, hiding his fear from Dani, knowing it was his turn to be the strong one, “Tomorrow we’ll succeed. We’ll both work on the door and we’ll get it.”

Tears falling onto Marc’s chest, Dani closed his eyes, the feel of Marc’s fingers carding through his hair soothing him to a fitful sleep, the older believing that their only chance was gone.


	15. Day One

“Two-hundred-and-ninety-nine….” Dani looked at Marc, the younger man having built up the confidence of the elder through the morning, convincing him that they needed to make one more attempt, “Three hundred… Ready?”

Marc nodded, reaching into the drawer for the taped-up card, his belly flip-flopping back and forth, “Ready…”

“I’ll go to the window, you do the door,” Dani nodded, more for his own benefit than Marc’s, the sound of their chairs moving back as they stood somehow almost deafening, “Let’s do this.”

*

“Dani…”

Looking up, Marc’s voice startling him, the pair of them having worked in silence for thirty minutes, him almost having half of the board from the window loose, Dani’s eyes widened, “Seriously?”

“First time luck…” Marc put his hand on the door handle, waiting for some kind of apocalypse as he pushed it down, his own heartbeat getting louder and louder in his head as he slowly opened the door, both of them breathing heavily as Dani came to his side and they stepped out into the hallway, their ears pricked for any sounds from anyone else.

Reaching for Marc’s hand, grateful when the younger instantly laced their fingers rather than laughed, Dani felt ready to vomit as they creeped to the top of the stairs, pausing for a second, anxiously listening for any signs of life before Marc put a tentative toe down onto the first step, the front door in sight, “I think they’ve all gone…”

“Me too,” Marc whispered, peering through the bannister, the bottom floor of the house seemingly abandoned, “Shall we run for it?”

Gripped with fear, Dani nodded, glad when Marc choose a brisk walk down the steps instead, taking a second as they reached the front door, his heart sinking when he spotted the lock, one that needed a key and wouldn’t be opened by their crafted tool, “Shit.”

“Let’s try the back door,” Still with his hand in Dani’s, Marc moved along the hall, taking them into the desolate kitchen, that door also locked, “Window?”

Concurring, Dani nodded, releasing his grip on Marc’s hand to open the window, it thankfully at waist height and easy enough for them both to jump out, their feet landing on the soft, damp ground, the cold an early reminder that their journey was guaranteed to be longer due to their lack of footwear, “Fuck it’s cold.”

“Let’s go,” Grabbing Dani’s hand, ignoring the chill that had them both coming out in goose bumps, Marc started a brisk walk, both of them aware of the distance they had to traverse, and the fact that being naked meant being out all night was simply not an option, “We’re still going right, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Fingers tightening on Marc’s hand, Dani stayed close, both of them feeling somehow safer next to the other.

**

“Thanks,” Politeness ingrained in him, Alex shrugged at Jorge’s amused smirk, “What?”

Taking his seat opposite Alex, Jorge licked his fingers, some of the sauce having escaped from his meal, “It just amuses me that you are polite to the guys who’ve kidnapped us.”

“No point pissing them off…” Alex chuckled, peeling the lid from his own meal, shrugging his shoulders as he decided on a touch of honesty, “I mostly curse myself for saying it to be honest, it’s out of my mouth before I know it!”

Jorge chuckled, a genuine low chuckle, the pitchy sound amusing Alex, “Your mother will be so proud of you!”

“Jajaja!” Alex shook his head, tilting it toward the fridge, their bumper shopping having been delivered earlier, them having put in a cheeky shopping list not expecting their captors to deliver every single item, “I think after the cucumber, courgette incident earlier she might not be so proud!”

Almost choking with laughter, Jorge put his head down on the table, “That makes it sound like something else entirely!”

“Oh,” Blushing hard, the moment him simply mixing the two vegetables up, rather than the sexual escapade he just made it sound like, Alex groaned, “Please stop!”

*

“OW!” Shrieking with pain Marc started hopping as he tried to dislodge the stone from his foot, the pain sharp and agony, “Fuck’s sake!”

Dani winced as Marc flicked the stone away, a tiny trickle of blood showing on the sole of his foot, “We should have brought the first aid kit…”

“No,” Bracing himself, Marc put his foot down, testing the sting of putting his weight on it, it uncomfortable, but not agony, Marc shook his head, “You were right, carrying stuff would just slow us down.”

Setting off again, Marc’s hand going back into his, Dani nodded, “True. I just wish we’d had water bottles at least…”

“We’ll have a drink when we get to safety,” Looking at the road ahead, it long, winding and seemingly surrounded by only fields, Marc tried to keep the hope in his voice, feeling that Dani still needed his positivity, despite the fact he himself was starting to lose it as the chill in the air got colder as the sun began to lower with no houses or village yet in sight.

 


	16. Almost Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning** Violence in this one!

“Dani,” Marc stopped, their walk talking them longer than they expected, cold starting to really kick in as the sun started to dip below the horizon, his voice holding an octave of panic, “I can see a car coming…”

Looking up, the car hurtling toward them in the distance, Dani froze, not far enough away from the house to be confident that the car contained a good Samaritan who would help them, “Shit.”

“Run!” Tugging on Dani’s arm, ignoring the pain of hard ground as they left the soft grass on the verge, instinct took over and Marc ran, leaving the road and heading into the wooded area lining it, sharp pine needles stabbing their toes and branches whipping their skin as they ran and ran, all of their hair standing on end, terror coursing through their veins as they ran until their lungs burned, no idea what direction they were travelling in, just anything to get away from the vehicle that seemed too good to be true.

*

Lying on the bed, clad only in boxers, Jorge whimpered as Alex’s teeth nipped on his bottom lip, the younger man’s confidence growing as his cheeky fingers sought out the places on Jorge’s body he had learned drew sharp breaths and low growls from the older man. Stopping with a start, Alex frowned, “What was that?”

Sitting up, Jorge shared a concerned look with Alex, a car pulling up outside the house and lots of shouting ensuing, angry voices getting louder and louder, yelling about someone fucking up and locks being broken. Holding their breath as someone stomped up the stairs, the locks on their room opened and the door thrown hard, making them both jump as it slammed against the wall, Tall Guy stalking across the room, gun in hand as he glared at them both, his crooked teeth clenched together, fury obviously bubbling in his belly as he sneered at Alex, “Your brother is dead…”

“No!” Unable to stop himself, Alex lunged forward, crashing onto the floor as Tall Guy slammed his gun into the side of Alex’s head, “Urgh.”

“Alex…” Jorge stopped in his tracks, Tall Guy turning the gun toward him, “I’m not moving.”

“I told him you were dead and he cried….” Tall Guy laughed cruelly, Alex curling into himself, blood running from his lip, nose and a cut on his head, his heart breaking at the confirmation that his brother was gone, “Then I shot him… And now I’m going to shoot you…”

“Please,” Jorge begged, tears pooling in his eyes, his stomach making him want to vomit, the fear like nothing he’d ever experienced in his life, “Please no. Please.”

“Eenie meenie, miney mo, which Marquez brother should be the first to go?” Tall Guy laughed, a sound eviler than anything either of them had ever heard in their lives, Alex curling up tight into himself, mentally saying goodbye, again, to everyone he loved, “First was Marc and now it’s Alex….”

“POLICE!!”

“Fuck,” Running out of the room, only the Yale style locks clicking into place, Tall Guy flew down the stairs, his team piling into their van and screeching away, leaving Jorge to slide down onto the floor and scoop Alex into his arms, the pair of them sobbing together until their throats and eyes ached.

*

“Stop…” Breathless, his body and feet cut and scratched, Dani leant against a tree, his lungs burning, “Stop Marc…”

Leaning down, his hands on his knees, Marc tried to catch his breath, “Fuck…”

“I….” Straightening up, Dani’s face fell as he looked around, the pair of them surrounded by trees for as far as the eye could see, “I have absolutely no idea where we are…”

His lungs still painful, Marc looked around, the thicket feeling very creepy under the darkening sky, “Dani…”

“We need to get out of here before dark…” Starting on again, keeping to a slightly worn path of moss and fewer sticks, Dani kept his eyes ahead, their pace brisk despite the ache in their muscles and bones, the idea of a night in the woods, naked, too much to contemplate.

*

“You’re ok,” Holding Alex, still on the floor, Jorge pressed his forehead to Alex’s, both of them still crying, “You’re ok. I’m here. You’re ok.”

“Marc…” Alex sobbed, his heart broken, “I hope it was quick. I hope it was quick…”

“I’m sure it was baby,” Jorge closed his eyes, praying to whatever god may be listening that it was, “I’m sure he didn’t suffer…”

*

“Boss…” Leaning on the door frame the young offer held up a sheet of paper, “Did Rossi say that they’d dumped all of Marc and Dani’s clothes?”

“Yeah,” Stern faced as always, the high-profile kidnap case threatening to wreck his career due to the seeming impossibility of solving it, the senior officer frowned, “Why?”

“999 got a phone call earlier reporting two naked guys running into Falsham’s Wood… The people reporting it said the guys ran at the sight of their car… There were no cars around or anything…” The younger man shrugged, “It might be nothing, but Falsham’s is in the middle of fucking nowhere so the guy reporting it couldn’t work out where they’d come from….”

“Get the chopper out, and a search team into the woods,” Picking up his phone, the irate man punched some numbers in, it only ringing twice before it was answered, “It’s Davies, show Rossi some photos from around Falsham’s Wood. See if he recognises anything…. I don’t care if it’s nearly midnight! Just do it!” Slamming down the phone he practically growled at the younger officer, “Why are you still there?!”

 


	17. Chapter 17

Coming to the end of the trail they’d been on, Dani almost wept at the sight of one track going right and one going left, “Oh for fuck’s sake…”

“Come on,” Marc tried to cajole his teammate, Dani having taken three heavy falls in the failing light, his confidence and energy rapidly draining as a result. Linking their hands, desperately wanting to curl up somewhere and sleep, yet knowing that was suicidal, Marc squeezed Dani’s fingers gently, “Let’s go right, keep following this little stream, it’s got to go somewhere…”

*

“Hey…” Nudging Alex, the younger man too drowsy for his liking, Jorge added some extra antiseptic to the towel, the sting as he touched it too the broken skin rousing Alex, “You need to stay awake for me…”

Letting his head loll back, Alex batted away Jorge’s hand, his spirit crushed, his brain foggy and confused, “Leave me alone.”

“No,” Scared, but determined, Jorge leant in, pressing the softest of kisses to Alex’s lips, ignoring the taste of salt between them, both of them having cried for what felt like hours, his voice husky and quiet, the silence in the rest of the house making the room seem big and echoey, “You need to fight, Alex… We need to fight and I can’t do it alone.”

*

“What is that?” Dani stopped, a weird hum in the distance catching his attention, his face lighting up, “That’s a helicopter!”

Pointing ahead, a spot where the trees thinned out, Marc almost yanked Dani’s arm from his shoulder as he began to run, the pain in their bloodied feet suddenly gone as they sprinted into the space, jumping up and down and waving their arms, “HEY!!! HELP!!! We’re down here!! HELP!!”

*

“COME ON!” Kicking the door, no-one reacting to his actions, Jorge took a deep breath, before aiming another kick, the sound of wood cracking spurring him on, “Come on, come on, come on…”

*

“It’s gone…” Forlorn as the sound of the rotating blades got further and further away, Dani dropped to his knees, the wail escaping his body almost animalistic, “Why? What did we do?”

“Dani…”

“No,” Pushing Marc away, Dani wept, his head down on his knees, tears making his eyes sting, “What did I do to deserve this? All the times I’ve been glad a crash didn’t kill me and now I wish…”

“DANI!” Startling his teammate with his tone, Marc put his hands on his head, looking like he’d seen a ghost as he slowly pointed ahead of them, “I can see lights…”

“What?” Falling over in his haste to jump up Dani winced, picking some thorns from his side, his eyes locked on the cluster of lights that Marc was pointing toward, the collection of flashing blue and static white lights looking very much like salvation, “We might make it…” Turning to Marc, hope back on his face, Dani’s voice was almost a whisper, “We might make it.”

“We **will** make it,” Grabbing Dani’s hand, Marc started a jog, the branches hitting against their skin as they broke into a run somehow painless as they kept their eyes ahead of them, freedom feeling close.

*

“Why are you crying?” Alex lifted his head, putting it back down instantly, groaning at the pain pulsing through his skull, “Jorge?”

Sat with his back against the door, every ounce of energy he had used in destroying the wood, his victory crushed by the discovery of the metal plate, one that he had no chance of damaging, far less destroying, Jorge sighed, “I thought I was getting us out, but I can’t. I’ve failed…”

“My head hurts,” Alex lifted his hand to touch his ear, panic coiling in his belly as his fingers came back damp and red, “ _Jorge_ …”

Nodding sadly, Jorge crawled across the floor, despair setting in for him, “I know…”

“I… That’s not good…”

“No,” Hauling himself up onto the bed, letting Alex curl into him, Jorge kissed Alex’s hair, tears streaming down his face, “It’s not baby… That’s why I’ve been attacking the door.”

“Am I going to die?” Looking up at Jorge, his wide eyes struggling to focus, Alex sounded young, and scared, “Jorge? Am I going to die?”

“I think…” Tightening his grip around the younger man, Jorge pulled the duvet around them both, the lack of heating allowing the early evening chill to penetrate the room, no energy left to protect the other, Jorge closed his eyes, hopelessness taking over, “I think we both are.”

*

“Help…” Dani dropped to his knees, exhaustion overwhelming him, his voice barely audible, Marc collapsing next to him, neither of them having anything left, “Please help us…”

“Dani? Can you hear me Dani? Someone get a blanket! WHERE ARE THOSE AMBULANCES?! Hang on Dani, we’ll get you to hospital really soon, just hang in there…”

“Marc,” Blackness closing in, everything too much, Dani shivered as a blanket was thrown over him, “Marc…”

“Marc is here,” The voice, salvation as far as Dani was concerned, tucked the blanket around Dani, rolling him to get his skin away from the cold ground, “He’s ok. You are both ok. You are safe now.”

*

“Baby…” Roser put her hand over her mouth, her sobs barely stifled as her brain processed the image in front of her; Marc hooked up to drips and machines, but safe, and there, “Oh my boy…”

“Alex?” Marc’s voice was a croak as he pulled the oxygen mask from his face, “Have they found Alex?”

“No,” Roser stroked Marc’s hair, putting the oxygen mask back into place with a softness only a mother could have, “You need to sleep baby…”

“Alex…” Marc fidgeted, feeling the drugs starting to send him to sleep despite his efforts to fight it, “Dani?”

“Dani is fine, he’s next door,” Roser stroked her hand through his hair, the regular tempo adding to the effect of making him drowsy, “You’ve been through a lot, you had to have an anaesthetic so that they could clean and stitch all of your wounds… Just sleep and let your body recover baby… Ssh… Just go to sleep…”

“Alex….” Drifting, Marc felt weightless, his limbs feeling like they were floating, the pain and itching in the cuts and wounds suppressed for the time being, the drugs allowing the feeling of freedom to wash over him as he fell asleep leaving Roser by his bed, holding his hands, her tears those of mixed emotions.


	18. Chapter 18

“Ok, Pedrosa says they were gone for four hours after the food…” Rolling out the map, sending various things flying off the table, the chief policeman circled the house on the map, “So it’s got to be within two hours of here so we can narrow down the search area… It needs to be somewhere relatively secluded. No neighbours. Detached… He said there is a green fence between the road and the driveway that they could see through a crack in the windowboard…” Drawing a wider circle on the map, the area vast, but not insurmountable, he put down his pen, and looked up at his team, a serious look on his face, “They are not likely to be happy to have lost Marquez and Pedrosa… They’ll do one of two things; they’ll run or they’ll react… If they’ve reacted, then chances are Lorenzo and the younger Marquez are either seriously injured, dead or have been moved already… Split the map into eight sections. I want one search team per section. I want two people combing Google Earth looking for that green fence… I want every minute of manpower we have that is not being used for blue light emergencies on this case. Our best hope of finding these two is that the kidnappers have fled. However, if they have then we have two young men locked in house with no obvious means of escape and no-one providing them food. No-one speaks to the press.”

*

“Hey…” Wheeling himself into Dani’s room, determined to see his teammate, Marc smiled at the smile he received, “How are you doing?”

Shuffling until he was sat up a bit, his body aching from head to toe, Dani chuckled, “I’m ok. Do they know you’ve used that to escape?”

“Nah,” Marc cackled, before shushing himself, not wanting to be hauled back to his room. Manoeuvring to the side of Dani’s bed, he instinctively reached out for Dani’s hand, emotion hitting him hard, “We made it…”

Dani nodded, slowly, contemplating the feat of their escape, the numerous cuts and bruises, and for him cracked ribs from his final fall, all worth it now they were safe and warm, “We did. We did good… Is there any news on Alex?”

“Not yet,” Smiling weakly at the squeeze on his hand from Dani, Marc sniffed, sadness taking over his face, making the Cervera native look so much younger than his years, “I feel so guilty… He was there because of me. I know I couldn’t protect him, but I feel like I should.”

Understanding the weight of responsibility of being an older brother, Dani squeezed Marc’s hand again, “Jorge is looking after him. And the police are really going all out searching for him. I was watching on the news channel, hoping maybe I could recognise something… They’ve got a helicopter, and dogs, and teams and teams of people. Jorge will look after him until they find him.”

“It’s been three days since we ran,” Marc shrugged sadly, confused by the fact his head was telling him Alex was gone, but his gut was telling him otherwise, “If they’ve no food… I think that might be worse, you know, the thought of them just starving…”

Leaning down, ignoring the fiery pain in his body, Dani pressed his lips to Marc’s, before sitting back with a start, his hand going to his mouth, remorse and shock flooding his instincts, “I’m so sorry. You just looked so sad and… I’m really sorry Marc…”

“It’s ok,” Lifting a finger to his lips, his skin burning where Dani’s had touched him, Marc’s eyes were wide, adrenaline and god-knows-what-else flooding through his veins, “I have to go back to my room.”

Reaching out, but Marc’s spin in the chair too quick, Dani’s face burned with shame and regret as his room door slammed shut. Flopping back on his pillows, Dani yelped in pain, cursing himself, “All that time with him naked and you fuck it up now. Nice work Pedrosa. Idiot!”

*

“Painkiller…” Alex’s hand reached out, blindly fumbling for the packet of pills, grunting in frustration when he found nothing, his voice hoarse and croaky, “Jorge?”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, the packet with its few remaining tablets moved out of Alex’s reached, Jorge winced as he lifted the dressing on Alex’s head, the bloody gash oozing, some of the gunk starting to take on a dirty hue. Quickly swapping it for a fresh towel, Jorge having torn some of them up to make dressings, others put in the fridge to use as cold compresses, Jorge stroked Alex’s cheek, avoiding the swelling around his left eye, “It’s too soon yet.”

“It hurts,” Alex licked his lips, the pain in his head a constant thump, leaving him wishing someone would drill a hole in his skull, release some of the pressure, “It really hurts.”

“I know,” With a strip of towel wrapped around his own hand, his flesh ripped as he desperately tugged and pulled on the window boards, the bathroom window almost free on the inside, Jorge struggled to open a bottle of water, it not fresh, but the bottle making it easier to feed to Alex, “You need to have a drink baby.”

“Not hungry.”

“I know you’re not,” Gently sliding his good hand behind Alex’s head, the younger man propped up on several pillows, Jorge tilted the bottle against the younger man’s lips, this action something he repeated multiple times a day in his desperate bid to keep Alex going it barely enough to keep him hydrated, but all that Jorge could do, “A little bit more. Just a little bit more…”

*

Sitting on his bed, cross legged, Marc eyes were on the tv screen, but his brain was focussed only on the room next door; on Dani and the sharp burn on his lips when Dani’s touched his. Yelping as he absent mindedly picked the top off one of his forming scabs, Marc swore, feeling more alone than ever, torn between going next door and curling into Dani’s side and never speaking to his teammate ever again. Picking up the remote control he switched the tv to one of the more gossipy 24 hour news channels, the hunt for Alex and Jorge something they were following, their helicopter chasing in the sky trailing the police helicopter, “Please find him. Please…”

*

Putting his bowl down on the table, Jorge’s stomach rumbled, the small portions of soup he was allowing himself nowhere near filling him up. Casting his eye over to Alex, the younger man sleeping fretfully for a while, the pain in his head only just eased enough by the pills. Jorge looked down at the box of painkillers, only four tablets left in it, and felt his stomach lurch knowing how much pain Alex had been in, the wound clearly infected, one eye almost swollen shut, the other ringed by black bruising, Jorge worried about the seriousness of the younger man’s condition, praying it was a simple concussion, but fearing it was more. Looking back at the bathroom window, his determination renewed, he wolfed down his soup, needing some sustenance to give him some energy, the nailed shut window needing smashed to give him access to the board screwed onto the outside, removing that their only hope of attracting the attention of someone who could help.


	19. Chapter 19

“What was that?” Frowning, Jorge moved to the side of the bed, his heart sinking when Alex repeated his words, a definite hint of slurring in the younger man’s voice. Taking a breath, Jorge leant down, bringing his hand to Alex’s neck, feeling for the pulse that, when found, was definitely slightly slower than it should have been, that somewhat ironically making Jorge’s race, “There’s going to be some noise and banging ok, but you just rest… I'm gonna get us out of here...”

“Hmm?” Confused, everything painful and blurry, Alex drifted back to sleep, barely moving an inch when Jorge picked up a chair and used the legs to smash the uncovered glass in the bathroom window.

“Come on,” Moving the chair around the edges, knocking out the majority of the glass, Jorge took a deep breath, pulling all his strength into his shoulders as he held the chair up, pausing for a second before he slammed it, as hard as he could, against the board on the outside of the window, repeating the action until his arms burned, desperate to uncover the window and find help.

*

“Alex?” Dropping the chair, Jorge ran into the other room, Alex’s entire body twitching. Bewitched by the sight, absolutely nothing he could to help, Jorge waited, barely breathing himself until the fit stopped, and Alex moaned, the sound terrifying, but better than no sound at all. Leaning down, briefly kissing Alex’s mouth, tears he didn’t know he was crying on his face, Jorge begged, “Please hang on, just a little more, please…”

Running back into the bathroom, Jorge picked up the chair, using it again as a battering ram, hitting the wooden board over and over, the sound of it starting to split spurring him on.

*

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

Dani sighed in frustration, the police officer showing him photographs of houses in the search area, “No.”

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

“No,” Frowning, Dani held up his hand, “Wait, go back… Ah, no. That’s not it.”

“No.”

*

“Come on, come on,” Summoning up the last bit of energy he had Jorge almost cried with relief when the board gave way, it crashing to the ground below, the sudden give away seeing the chair follow it. Putting his head through the window, the cold air making him shiver, the drop too far to jump, Jorge filled his lungs with air, “HELP! Somebody help!!”

*

“Can I come in?” Hovering uncomfortably in the doorway, his feet painful, but his pride not allowing him to use the wheelchair, Dani chewed on his lip, “I, erm, wanted to apologise…”

His eyes glued to the TV, the search for his brother consuming him, Marc shrugged, “It’s fine. Forget it.”

“Marc,” Inviting himself in, Dani plonked himself down on the chair next to the bed, various sounds stinging as he did. Looking forlorn, quite lost without Marc’s company, Dani shrugged, “I was out of order. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I just… Actually, no, there’s no excuse, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Glancing to the side, his heart aching at the sight of Dani’s sadness, his own feelings and emotions a jumbled mess of confusion, Marc tilted his head toward the TV, “I keep thinking I’ll recognise something, you know, something that could help…”

“I know what you mean, I was looking through photographs earlier. Just houses, but none of them were one I recognised,” Wondering if the conversation was Marc’s way of accepting his apology, Dani fidgeted in his seat, “I can’t believe we made it. I thought… In the woods…”

Nodding, closing his eyes as the memory of the hopelessness flooded back to him, Marc stifled a sob, “What if they don’t find Alex and Jorge?”

“They will,” Dani reached out, hesitating for a second before grabbing Marc’s hand, lacing their fingers like they had during their escape, “We made it, and they’ll make it too.”

*

Seeing a car in the distance, the darkness making his waving to the last car futile, Jorge struck the match, praying his cobbled together plan would work. Holding it against the end of the sheet until the material caught, he gently lowered it out of the window, praying it would be seen before the flames licked all the way up to his fingers.

Holding his breath as the car got closer and closer, the sheet well ablaze, Jorge glanced at Alex, the younger man moaning in pain, “HELP! HELP! PLEASE HELP!!”

*

“Boss,” Throwing open the door, the young officer ignored the glare, “Control have just received a call. A motorist has reported a man hanging a burning sheet out of the window of a house. She was too scared to stop as she was alone, but the house is on the edge of Falsham’s Wood… A unit it on their way now.”

“Let’s go… Make sure that unit is on blues and twos, and get medics on route too.”


	20. Chapter 20

“Hang on,” Holding Alex’s hand, both of them in the back of the ambulance, it racing along the road at breakneck speed, Jorge shivered despite the blanket wrapped around his shoulder, “We’ve made it, we’ve made it, you just need to hang on a tiny bit longer.”

*

“Sorry…” Marc blushed, yawning, the short nap the most restful sleep he’d had since they arrived in hospital, “I haven’t really been sleeping.”

Dani smiled, rubbing his thumb over Marc’s hand, “I’d rather you fell asleep on me than punched me so it’s all good.”

“I wouldn’t punch you,” Slightly hesitant, the world feeling like a confusing place, Marc shrugged, “I’m not offended that you kissed me, I’m just confused by it.”

Slightly surprised by Marc’s choice of word, Dani fought down the ball of hope growing in his belly, mentally scolding himself for even asking the question when his teammate was in such a delicate state, “What do you mean?”

*

Bustled out of the way, a team of medics instantly surrounding Alex and almost running away with the trolley bed he was on, Jorge stood motionless between the two sets of automatic doors, the realisation that he was _finally_ safe hitting him square in the stomach. Jumping slightly as an arm wrapped around his shoulders, he smiled through tears at the female paramedic next to him.

“Come on love, let’s get you seen. I’m sure you’ve got family desperate to see you.”

*

“Shift a bit,” Wriggling, both of them giggling, Dani wrapped his arm around Marc’s back; him on his back, Marc on his side curled around Dani, the admission from the younger man that he slept better next to Dani because it felt safe leading to Dani clambering into bed next to him, promising Marc his intentions were friendly, silently warning his body to behave, mental cursing himself for the self-torture, Dani closed his eyes, his voice soft, “Better?”

His head supported by Dani’s shoulder and a pillow, the blanket pulled up to his chin, one hand splayed out on Dani’s chest, the rhythmic thump of Dani’s heartbeat lulling him into sleep, Marc nodded, his eyes already fluttering shut, “Much.”

“Get some sleep,” Switching off the TV with the remote, only missing the breaking news by seconds, Dani took a deep breath, the position like a fine line between heaven and hell.

*

“Jorge…” Opening her arms as she walked into the room, Laura and Chicho behind her and clinging to each other, Maria wept openly as Jorge fell into her arms, her normally quiet and stoic son sobbing hard as he slid down to his knees, his mother going with him, puddling on the floor as relief and fear escaped them all, “It’s ok baby, you’re safe now. It’s ok.  It’s over. It’s all over.”

*

“Mar…” Pausing in the doorway, Marc fast asleep for the first time in days, Dani also out for the count, Julia sighed, wondering when life would get easier for them. Moving to the side of the bed, keeping his voice soft, Julia put his hand on Dani’s shoulder, “Dani. Marc…”

“Hmmm…” Opening his eyes, seeing Julia, Dani jumped, knocking Marc in the process, “Julia?”

“Papa?” Yawning, Marc stretched out, then stopped, looking at his father, his voice barely a whisper as his stomach plummeted, “Alex?”

“They’ve found him. Them,” Julia perched on the edge of the bed, noticing his son reaching for Dani’s hand, “Jorge is ok, he’s got a few minor injuries… Alex has a head injury. They hit him with the gun, hard.”

“Is he ok?” Sitting up, hauling Dani with him, Marc tugged on the tubes attached to his drip, “Where is he? Can I see him? Is he ok? Papa?”

“He’s on his way to surgery…” Julia put his hand out, taking Marc’s free hand, his smile not reaching his eyes, the tone of his voice telling the gravity of the situation, “He has some bleeding. In his head. They think maybe his eye socket is fractured too.”

“They can fix that, right?” Squeezing Dani’s hand, Marc studied his father’s face, looking for a chink of light, “Papa? They can fix that?”

“They’re going to try,” Julia squeezed Marc’s hand, used to being the optimistic one, “The wound is infected. Jorge has done a good job keeping it clean, but… He’s very sick Marc.”

“But he’s alive?” Marc looked between the two men, begging for some hope, “He’s alive and that’s good.”

“That’s good,” Dani smiled kindly, swinging his legs free of the blanket, “I should…”

“Stay,” Marc tightened his grip on Dani’s hand, “Or come with us… Please.”

“Ok,” Dani nodded, turning to Julia, smiling softly, but not quite meeting the older man’s eyes, “Do you want to go to Roser?”

*

Looking up, praying it was a doctor and hoping it wasn’t, Marc smiled kindly at Jorge, “Hey.”

“Hi,” Accepting the slightly uncomfortable hug from the younger man, Jorge looked around the grey waiting room, “Any news?”

“No,” Marc stepped back, Dani stepping in to hug his ex, that making Marc’s belly flip awkwardly, “Not yet.”

“I tried,” Jorge’s bottom lip wobbled, looking at Roser, guilt swamping him, “I used towels as dressings and I changed them twice a day… I gave him water… He wouldn’t eat, but I gave him water…”

Roser shook her head, smiling kindly, standing up to scoop Jorge into a hug, having garnered some details about Jorge and Alex from Marc and Dani, “Thank you for looking after him.”

“Do you mind if I wait with you?” Shifting from foot-to-foot, Jorge bit his bottom lip, nervous about being in the company of Roser and Julia, and terrified about the outcome of the operation.

Julia nodded, Roser tugging on Jorge’s arm until he sat next to her, Dani and Marc sitting on the tatty chairs, waiting for news together, minutes turning into hours, all of them sat in silence until the door eventually opened, a doctor appearing fresh from theatre.

“Alex is in recovery… He’s weak, and we don’t know the full extent of any damage yet, but his vitals are good… He’s a tough cookie. The next twenty-four hours are critical; we need to monitor him very closely for any further bleeds.”

“Can I see him?” Roser clung to her husband’s hand, the news desperate, but better than the worst, “Please?”

“One at a time, and only for a few minutes. He needs to rest. You three need to rest too…”

*

“Hey you,” Marc stood at the side of Alex’s bed, his brother hooked up to machines and drips, the beeps loud and, thankfully, repetitive, Alex swathed in so many bandages most of his head and face were covered up, tears stinging at Marc’s eyes at the sight, “We made it bro… We made it and you just need to fight this because I need you… We all need you… I think even Lorenzo needs you, which is kinda weird, but if you fight this and come home then you can hook up with whoever you want… I won’t give you any more grief, and I won’t laugh at you for having shit taste ever again. I promise. Just please, please wake up…”

 


	21. Chapter 21

“Any change?” Almost crying at the tandem shaken heads from his parents, Marc sighed, before nodding to the sleeping Jorge, curled up under a blanket on a chair in the corner, “How long has he been there?”

Reaching out to fix Jorge’s blanket, her motherly instinct extending toward Jorge (and Dani), Roser smiled fondly, “All night. He’s only been asleep for a couple of hours. He’s been reading him a book most of the night.”

“I didn’t know he could read books,” Holding his hands up, Marc shook his head chuckling, sitting down next to Alex, reaching for one of his brother’s hands and lacing their fingers, trying not to bump or dislodge the cannula, “Did you hear that lanky? Lorenzo has resorted to reading you books. If that does tell you that five days of sleep is enough, then nothing will… Well I know something that’ll definitely get you moving; I’ve got this scab on my arse, it’s so itchy it’s unreal!”

“Marc!” Roser chided her eldest son, shaking her head, Julia hiding his amusement behind a wagged finger, “I’m going to get a coffee. Do you want anything?”

“No thanks,” Wrinkling his face as his mother kissed his cheek, Marc laughed as his father ruffled his hair, both of them heading off for a well-earned coffee. Turning back to his brother, half forgetting about Jorge asleep in the corner, Marc sighed, “I kinda need you to wake up bro. I really need a chat. I’m so confused right now and I don’t know if it’s the situation, if it’s me, if it’s Dani or what it is… You remember when I met Lorena? She was so good with the eye thing. You know she was kind and supportive and I don’t know if that’s what this is… Maybe spending so much time with Dani, especially when they moved us, they took all our clothes you know – left us naked!” Marc chuckled, shaking his head, his thumb rubbing the back of Alex’s hand, “I can’t sleep properly unless Dani is there. It just feels safe with him there, like we can get through anything together. He kissed me and it was weird. Not ‘Oh my god he’s a guy’ weird, but like ‘Oh my god he’s a guy and that **should** feel weird’ weird…  I don’t know what that means. I’ve never been attracted to guys before so it can’t be anything like _that,_ can it? I mean, can you get to my age and not know? Or is Dani some sort of exception to the rule? How does it even work? I mean, I’ve done that with girls, but with a guy? How does that even work? Why have I never asked you about these things before? I feel so unprepared, but unprepared? Does that mean I’m preparing to do it? With Dani? I mean does Dani even want that? I have no-one else I can talk too about this so you need to wake up…”

“Talk to Dani.”

Jumping in fright, letting go of his brother’s hand, Marc clutched his hand to his chest, his heart thumping, “Jesus Christ Jorge!”

“Sorry,” Slightly amused, but slightly guilty at how much of a fright Marc had got, Jorge leant over the bed, catching the younger rider’s hand, his face serious, “Talk to Dani, seriously.”

Shaking his head, taking his hand away from Jorge, Marc eyed him with suspicion, “How much of that did you hear?”

“Enough,” Jorge smiled kindly, reaching for Alex’s hand, “Dani is… Dani is pretty good with people when they are a bit messed up. Seriously, talk to him… I mean, I’d offer, but I’m a bit shit at feelings and stuff.”

Looking at Jorge, big brother mode activated in him, Marc narrowed his eyes, “Oh really?”

“Yeah,” Jorge nodded, stroking Alex’s palm with his thumb, smiling weakly, “Your brother has a knack of getting things out of me though…”

“You really like him? I mean really?”

“I’m here…” Jorge looked at Marc, an open, almost brutal kind of honesty on his face, “He’s pretty much the only reason I didn’t give up in there…”

“Well I just hope,” Freezing at the sound of a cough, not from someone in the doorway interrupting, but from someone, Alex, reacting to the feel of a tube in their throat, Marc’s heart soared as he looked at his brother, Alex’s eyes confused, but open, “Hey… Hey just stay calm…”

“No, no,” Catching Alex’s other hand, the younger man instinctively reaching for the tube in his mouth, Jorge kept his voice soft and gentle, “It’s ok, the doctor’s will come and sort the tube… You are safe now. We’re ALL safe now.”

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

“Can I come in?” Hovering awkwardly in the doorway of Dani’s room, Marc fidgeted from foot to foot.

Smiling, genuinely delighted to see Marc, Dani put aside his magazine, “Of course…”

“Alex is awake…” Sitting on the edge of Dani’s bed, the older man sat cross legged in his pyjamas, Marc sighed in relief, “He’s awake.”

Thrilled, and relieved, Dani grinned, nodding his head, “That’s brilliant. Really brilliant.”

“They’re doing some tests to see if there’s any damage,” Marc bit his bottom lip, the idea of Alex not getting back to being Alex still knawing uncomfortably at his stomach, “He recognised me and Jorge though so that’s good.”

Agreeing with a firm nod, Dani reached out, patting Marc’s leg, before bringing his hand back to himself, self-conscious still, “That is good.”

“I was, erm, talking to Alex,” Marc shifted slightly on the bed, side on to Dani, his shoulders hunched slightly, hands fidgety, “I thought Jorge was asleep, but he heard some of it and he said I should talk to you…”

“Ok…”

“I’m really confused,” Marc shrugged, a furrowed line appearing on his forehead, the depth of his thought obvious to Dani despite the lack of eye contact, “I feel… Well… I’ve never been into guys. Any guy. Never even thought about it, not even for a second.”

Crossing his arms, then forcing himself to relax them, not wanting to shut himself off to Marc despite the instinctive desire to just curl up in a ball and not hear Marc’s words, “Ok…”

“The nurses told me you’d probably be going home in a couple of days,” Marc looked up, his eyes wide and honest, the look making Dani’s breath catch in his throat, “I hate the idea of being here without you… And I’ve hardly slept apart from when you were in my room… I don’t know if it’s because we’ve been together so much and having you there felt safer than being alone.”

Biting his lip, his brain racing, trying to process the words Marc was saying and the actual meaning of them, Dani tilted his head to the side, “What are you trying to say Marc? You can tell me anything.”

“I wanted to kiss you back,” His voice barely a whisper, his eyes on a mark on the floor, Marc’s hands trembled, nerves and fear taking over everything. Taking a breath, his eyes glassy with tears, “I don’t know what that means. I don’t know if that’s because of now and next week everything will go back to how it used to be or if…”

Fighting back the surge of hope in his belly, knowing he needed to protect himself, Marc as his untouchable straight teammate a hard-enough life, Dani smiled fondly, “I don’t think now is a time to be making life changing decisions.”

“You don’t want me?” Looking up sharply, Dani’s words cutting through him like a knife, Marc looked and sounded hurt.

Dani shook his head, letting himself reach out and link fingers with Marc, catching and holding Marc’s eye, “That’s **not** what I said. At all… What we’ve been through… It’s massive… And it’s natural that you and I gravitate toward each other, just like it’s natural Alex and Jorge have.”

“So, what I’m feeling isn’t real?” His gaze dropping, and shoulders slumping, Marc shook his head, “It feels real…”

“I’m not saying that either…” Straightening his legs, Dani rolled onto his side, fearing he was sending himself to hell, but needing to help Marc, “Come here…”

“I don’t think…” Silencing himself, the urge to curl up next to Dani, the craving for the safety net too much, Marc kicked off his slippers, moving onto his side next to Dani, burying his face in Dani’s chest as his teammate wrapped a comforting arm around him, bringing the blanket with him, “I’m so confused…”

Stroking his hand through Marc’s hair, wishing nothing more than to lean down and devour him in kisses, Dani closed his eyes, Marc’s hair tickling his chin, “Maybe you’ve been through a lot and you are latching to the person who understands it… Maybe you’ve finally realised how amazing I am…”

“Modest Pedrosa,” Marc chuckled lightly, the knot in his belly uncurling thanks to Dani’s voice and touch, “I always thought you were pretty amazing to be honest.”

Pressing a kiss to Marc’s forehead, Dani willed his body to behave, Marc’s proximity a massive problem in thin cotton pyjamas, “Just… Don’t overthink things… You’ll work out what’s real and what’s not in time. For once in your life you’ll just have to be patient and see how it goes.”

“I suppose,” Looking up, almost killing Dani by looking through his long eyelashes, Marc smiled softly, worry clear on his face, “Do you promise you’ll tell me if this gets too much for you? I don’t want to wreck our friendship by… Teasing you or something… I wouldn’t ever want to do that.”

Dani nodded, appreciating the gesture, but knowing he was long since lost, “I’ll be fine.”

“Thank you,” Pressing his mouth to Dani’s, half knowing he was being cruel, but half desperate to know what it felt like, Marc shivered at the fizz between them, the kiss chaste, yet still the best of his life. Curling back down, he pressed a second kiss to Dani’s chest, the safe thump of Dani’s heartbeat lulling him into sleep, Marc sighed, content, “Thank you Dani.”

*

“Stay…” Reaching for Jorge, Alex blushed slightly, shrugging his shoulders, “I mean, you don’t have to leave. If you want to stay you can stay…”

Lacing his fingers into Alex’s, slightly flushing as he caught Roser’s look to her husband, Jorge nodded, sitting back down on his chair, “Ok. If you want me to stay, then I stay…”

“Ok Alex,” The doctor smiled kindly, pulling his gloves into place, the nurse on hand with a tray of tools, “Your CT scan is looking good. You sound fine, your slurring has eased dramatically and your hearing seems good, though you will have a proper hearing test soon. When we take the bandage off we’ll remove the dressing over your eye… Now, you will have some bright lights, or blurriness in the beginning so it’s important that you don’t panic… Imagine walking from a dark room out into the sunshine – you get blurriness and the likes.”

“Yeah,” Nodding, squeezing Jorge’s hand tighter, the fear of his eye not working equally as huge in his head as the fear of there being some sort of lasting brain damage, “I get it…”

“Ok,” Turning to Roser and Julia the doctor smiled, “There might be some blood, maybe some bleeding, don’t panic. This is one of these things that there are one million possibilities... Right then…”

Taking a shaky breath as the doctor reached for the bandage, unravelling it from around his head, Alex could see his past in glorious Technicolor detail in front of his eyes; riding the bike, flying from country to country, winning races. As the doctor dumped the bandage onto the cart he risked a glance at the other three in the room, the two stark white dressings making his mother’s eyes fill with tears, Jorge and his father managing to hide their emotions better.

“I’m just going to change your surgery dressing first,” His tone reassuring, the doctor made several noises as he lifted the blood soiled dressing from where they’d lifted a small piece of Alex’s skull to repair the bleed. Cleaning it slightly, but not disturbing the well-formed clots, he smiled at Alex, taking off his dirty gloves, “That’s looking good. The infection seems to have cleared up nicely.”

“Great,” Relief at that mingling with fear as the doctor pulled on new gloves and reached for the dressing covering his eye, Alex winced, the lights in the room seeming far too bright as he blinked repeatedly. Listening to the doctor’s words, Alex kept blinking slowly, giving his eye time to adjust to the light, shapes and people starting to come into focus, blurry at first and then less, “I can see…”

“Good,” The doctor smiled, politely ignoring Roser’s tears of happiness, pointing to the wall opposite, “Can you see the letters on that board?”

“A,” Alex took a shuddery breath, actually being able to read letters making him want to weep with happiness, “T, N… P, O, Z…. The next line is a bit blurry, I think it’s L, P, maybe E? Then D or O.”

“Ok, stop now,” Smiling, but firm, the doctor moved the bottom of Alex’s bed, blocking his view of the chart, “That is excellent… Do not spend every minute reading that chart. You need to let your eye rest and heal. Ok?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, tears leaking from both eyes, relief overtaking everything, “Thank you.”

“You are welcome,” Looking around the room, the doctor smiled, “Anyone got any questions? … No, ok. Well if you think of any just ask one of the nurses to page me. I’ll be back in tomorrow morning. Well done Alex, you are doing great. Just make sure you rest now.”

“Thank you,” Taking a deep breath as the doctor left the room, the nurse following, Alex’s hands began to tremble, “I can see. I’m awake and I can see…”

“Hey,” Sitting up on the edge of the bed, taking Alex’s hands, Jorge smiled, his voice and touch firm, “It’s ok. Everything is going to be ok.”

“I thought I was going to be blind…” Starting to sob, Alex let Jorge scoop him into a hug, neither of them noticing Roser and Julia slipping out of the room as they clung to each other, both of them crying, the relief that their ordeal was over overwhelming them, “I’m ok. We’re ok.”

“Sssh,” Lying down on his side, pulling Alex too him, Jorge peppered his forehead with kisses, “We’re ok. We’re ok.”

 


	23. Chapter 23

Padding to the door, laughing at Eric forgetting his keys again, Dani opened it, “I’m injured, you’re not supposed to make me move…”

“Sorry…”

Spinning back around, having turned instantly upon opening the door, Dani tilted his head in confusion, “Marc?”

“Can I come in?” Moving from side-to-side, feeling about twelve, Marc shrugged, “I know we said we’d have some days at home with our families, but I haven’t slept since we came back to Spain and I didn’t know what else to do.”

Nodding, stepping back to let Marc in, noting the holdall in his hand, Dani chewed on his lip, a million questions in his brain, but keeping silent for Marc’s sake, “Come through…”

*

“So…” Sitting down next to Marc, them having wasted around an hour of time by drinking coffee, discussing Alex and debating how Jorge had persuaded Vale to pay for the medivac flight that brought them all back to Spain, Dani smiled fondly, “You want to talk about it?”

Ducking his chin into his hoodie, his hands covered by his sleeves, Marc shrugged, his face going pink, “I can’t sleep without you there.”

“Marc…”

Turning to Dani, tears in his eyes, Marc shook his head, “I’m so confused… I missed you so much even though it’s only been three days. Like so much it hurts in here…”

“Oh Marc,” Watching as the younger man pressed his hand to his stomach, Dani sighed, realising that he was the one who had to put everything on the line, despite the risk of that backfiring, “I like you, so whatever you need from me, that’s ok… You just need to promise me something… If it turns out this is just an experiment or whatever, promise me that you’ll not let it stop us being friends.”

Nodding, Dani’s face telling him even more than his words, Marc shivered, something electric in the air, “I don’t… I’ve never… I…”

“Easy…” Dani put his arm up on the back of the sofa, opening himself up for Marc, the younger man taking the invitation and curling into him, Dani’s senses overloading with Marc’s touch and smell. Wrapping his arm around Marc, Dani pressed a kiss to his hair, “We just do whatever comes natural to you and see where that takes us.”

Snuggling in, that sound lulling him toward sleep instantly, the sound being the rhythmic beat of Dani’s heard, Marc yawned, a slight hint of guilt in his tone, “I’m sorry I keep falling asleep on you.”

“You are beautiful when you sleep, so don’t worry about that,” Kissing Marc’s hair again, Dani smiled at the soft blush appearing on the younger man’s cheeks. Picking up the tv remote he chose a random film, one that didn’t need a lot of thought or concentration, the volume low, “Go on, get some rest. I’ll wake you when it’s bed time.”

*

“Hey sleepyhead…” Dani nudged Marc’s shoulder, the younger man having slept for three hours solid, Dani pretending to have watched a film, but mostly having just watch Marc sleep, loving the way the younger man’s stresses and strains washed away from his face as he relaxed, “Marc…”

“Hgwdijo,” Marc giggled, cringing at his gobbledygook, pressing his face into Dani’s chest, “Was I snoring?”

“Not really…” Dani chuckled, shrugging slightly, “Maybe a little…”

“Cringe…” Marc shook his head, yawning, tilting his head from side-to-side. Looking at Dani, his expression serious, Marc bit his lip, “Dani?”

“Yeah?” One hand stroking up and down Marc’s back, the gesture instinctive, Dani narrowed his eyes at Marc’s coy look, “What is it?”

“Can I kiss you?” Blushing, despite his burst of bravery, Marc bit his lip, the gesture one of shyness, but it coy enough to suddenly make Dani’s trousers two sizes too small. Smiling at the tiny nod from Dani, the older man staying still, letting Marc take everything at his pace, Marc shuffled slightly higher on the sofa, leaning in, his eyes closing just as his lips touched Dani’s, the initial touch chaste, just two sets of soft, yet slightly chapped lips touching. Feeling all of his breath escape his body, the zing almost electric, Marc moved his lips slightly, groaning as Dani did the same, the pair of them melting together in a mash of soft kisses, Dani’s tongue the first to brave a move, gently seeking out Marc’s, tangling gently until the burning of their lungs forced them to part, Marc resting their foreheads together, “Wow…”

*

Sliding into bed, Dani having brushed his teeth first, Marc shuffled around, trying to get comfortable, both of them just in boxers and a t-shirt, Marc rolled onto his side, smiling at his teammate, “Dani?”

“Yeah?” Rolling onto his side, the smile on his grin almost permanent, Dani reached out to stroke Marc’s face, chuckling at the way Marc chased his palm to kiss it.

Snuggling down under the duvet, Dani preferring a colder room than Marc would have chosen, Marc worried his lip again with his teeth, nerves bubbling again, “What do we do now?”

“Same as we have been doing…” Dani smiled fondly, his stomach flip-flopping with hope, his cock rock hard since the first touch of Marc’s lips, “We just take each day as it comes and see what happens.”

Nodding, smiling, Marc sighed in contentment, “So I’m allowed to kiss you?”

“Oh yeah,” Dani nodded, chuckling with Marc when the younger chuckled at his reaction, “With kissing skills like that, anytime…”

Blushing, looking down, Marc shrugged, “I’m sort of scared… I don’t know what I’m doing… I mean, when it comes to, you know, stuff…”

“Well,” Dani cupped Marc’s face with his hand, tilting his chin back up to capture him in another kiss, gentle, with a slight hint of nip, “From what I’ve seen of you you’re a pretty quick learner… Don’t worry about it. Just go with the flow.”

Nodding, Marc slipped his hand under Dani’s t-shirt, his hand splaying over the skin, feeling the firmness under his fingertips, “I can do this?”

“You can do whatever you want,” Grunting slightly as Marc shifted, his hip coming into contact with Dani’s cock, making them both blush, “Maybe just be slightly more gentle with your moves…”

Giggling, properly hitting a giggle fit, Marc shook his head, almost crying with laughter, “Remember when Honda made us do that thing pre-season? When we had to record what we thought the year would bring? I wonder what they’d have said if I’d said I was going to get kidnapped and turn gay for you…”

“I think they’d have laughed,” Dani chuckled, the wording giving him a surge of hope that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t simply an experiment.

*

“I need to go home,” Sitting at the breakfast table, both of them eating cornflakes, Marc sighed, seeming almost close to tears, “Alex has his next hospital check-up tomorrow so I should be there.”

Disappointed, bitterly so, Dani hid it well, nodding, “Of course.”

“Jorge is staying…” Marc played around with his spoon, dancing around the question, “I wondered if… If you’ve nothing else on. Maybe…”

Leaning over the table, drawing Marc into a kiss that quickly got heated enough for two bowls of cornflakes to be sent crashing to the floor, Dani hauling Marc onto the table top, his hands in Marc’s hair, guiding his head so that Dani could devour his mouth, Marc’s nimble fingers dancing under Dani’s top, digging into his spine and scraping down his back.

Barely catching his breath, momentarily wondering if his table was strong enough to take their weight, Dani latched his mouth onto Marc’s neck, sucking a red mark, switching between sharp teeth and luxurious tongue, Marc somehow ending up under him, their groins level, two pairs of boxers hiding nothing. Pulling away, panting, Dani’s willpower was seriously tested at the dark look in Marc’s eyes, “Marc… Are you…”

“Shut up Dani,” Digging his fingers into Dani’s hips, pulling his body closer, making them both hiss at the contact, Marc shook his head, “Just shut up.”

*

“So,” Shuffling into the kitchen, still using the walking frame until his balance was back to perfect, Alex smirked, “You and Dani?”

Blushing furiously, somehow still able to feel the branding of his and Dani’s cum mingling on his stomach, Marc shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, “You know I sleep better with Dani there.”

“You’ve done more than sleep, I can tell,” Balancing against the counter, everything almost back to normal, but not quite, Alex tilted his head, “Did you fuck him or did he fuck you?”

Shaking his head, Marc kicked the kitchen door shut with a hiss, “Nobody did any fucking…”

“Really?” Alex frowned, surprised, before smirking again, “Blow job?”

“Noooo,” His face burning, Marc bit his lip, “We just kind of…. Rubbed… Then Dani… With his hand… Both of us…”

“Good?”

“ _Amazing_ …”

“Kissing good?”

“More than…” Marc shivered, just at the thought, glaring at Alex when his younger brother laughed, “Once you are better you are getting kicked so many times!”

“Jaja, I know, Jorge said the same thing,” Alex laughed, balancing his weight back on the frame, “This is not how I expected this year to go.”

“That’s what I said!”

“We are more alike than you ever realised,” Alex tilted his head, smirking, loving the power to make his brother blush, “Although still opposites in some things.”

“Like what? _Alex!_ ” Going scarlet as he realised what Alex was implying, instantly getting the image in his head of him fucking Dani, the thought of Jorge fucking Alex thankfully only very, very brief, Marc shook his head, “Mama! I think there is some permanent damage in Alex’s head!”

 


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One to go... Thank you so much!!

Jorge

| 

    

| 

Hey. How was physio today?  
  
---|---|---  
  
Alex

| 

 

| 

Awful. They wouldn’t let me do anything without the walking frame. They are so paranoid I’m going to fall they are holding me back.  
  
Jorge

| 

 

| 

Did you speak to them? Explain how well you are doing?  
  
Alex

| 

 

| 

No.  
  
Alex

| 

 

| 

I handled it the mature way.  
  
Jorge

| 

 

| 

Walk out?  
  
Alex

| 

 

| 

I refused to get in the hydrotherapy pool until they let me walk there with just sticks. They refused so I refused.  
  
Jorge

| 

 

| 

What happened?  
  
Alex

| 

 

| 

We all sat there in our swimming gear for an hour until I decided to go home.  
  
Jorge

| 

 

| 

Oh babe. Sounds like you could do with a hug x  
  
Alex

| 

 

| 

Yeah, but you are all away racing so there’s no-one here to hug me.  
  
Alex

| 

 

| 

Sorry, I didn’t mean that to sound like that. I’m happy you are all fit enough to race again, really I am x  
  
Jorge

| 

 

| 

I know you are. I understand you being frustrated, I really do. Extra hugs on Monday xx  
  
*

“Are you ready?” Smiling, Alex’s face confused, Jorge reached behind him, taking the holdall from Roser, “Thank you… Come on then…”

Looking between his mother and his boyfriend, Alex narrowed his eyes, suspicious about what they’d been plotting, “Where are we going?”

“You need to get away for a few days…” Jorge opened the car door, chucking the bag into the back seat next to his, “And I have a few days off… Come on, I know you love a surprise…”

Nervous, the wobbliness he still suffered necessitating the walking frame or sticks making him feel inadequate, Alex shook his head, “What if something happens?”

“Babe…” Jorge walked back to the door, glancing around quickly, before leaning up on his toes, risking a quick peck to Alex’s lips, “We’re not going to be far away, and we can deal with anything that happens…”

Pressing his lips together, his eyes narrowed slightly, Alex was tense, his voice small, “What if I need help? What if I get the numb foot back and I need help to the bathroom?”

“Then I’ll help you,” Looking Alex straight in the eye, Jorge put his hand over Alex’s, “I’ll call it practise for when we’re old…”

Smiling, his eyes filling with tears, being at home while the others raced considerably harder than he’d anticipated, Alex nodded, the look Jorge gave him making him feel warm and cared for, “Ok.”

“Good,” Stepping aside to let Alex walk to the car, all of them knowing better than to try and help until he asked, Jorge smiled at Roser, able to read the nerves in her face, “I’ll look after him… I promise.”

“I know you will,” Stepping outside, Roser lifted the walking frame and put it on the back seat next to the bags. Leaning in she kissed Alex’s cheek, amusing herself at his torn reactions of ‘Urgh MAMA!’ and ‘Aww Mama…’, “Have fun boys.”

*

“Wake up sleepyhead,” Jorge squeezed Alex’s knee, smiling warmly as he watched the younger man wake up, the smile on Alex’s face when he remembered he was with Jorge making Jorge lean in to kiss him, soft lips meeting chapped ones and pressing lightly, “We’re here…”

Looking out the window, them parked in front of an impressive bungalow style house, the gardens vast, Alex frowned, “Where is here?”

“Come on…” Unclipping his belt, Jorge opened the door and got out, fetching Alex’s frame from the back and bringing it to the passenger side, “Come on then, or do you want to sit there all day?”

Getting out of the car, steadying himself with one hand on the frame and the other on the car door, Alex shuffled to his feet, giving himself a few moments before he started to move toward the front door as Jorge picked up the two bags, “Whose house is this?”

“Do you like it?” Stepping ahead of Alex, forcing himself not to watch the younger making the short walk, knowing the smooth path wouldn’t give him any obstacles, Jorge opened the front door, chucking the bags into the corner of the hallway as he stepped back, giving Alex space to come in, “So, three days, just me and you, what do you think?”

Leaning over the frame, Alex pressed his mouth to Jorge’s, loving the way Jorge let him lead, the elder knowing that he desperately craved some control back in his life, Alex nodded, resting his forehead on Jorge’s as he pulled away, “Sounds good to me.”

*

“Those handles in that bathroom are clever,” Padding into the kitchen, Jorge at the stove making pasta, Alex shuffled onto a chair, confident enough that he wouldn’t hurt himself on the luxurious carpeted floors that he’d abandoned the walking frame for two sticks, “They aren’t like the ones they fitted at Mama’s. They look like they belong in a hospital.”

Jorge smiled, delighted in the way Alex was just fitting into the house, “I’m glad you like it.”

“So,” Alex fixed Jorge with an inquisitive look, “Are you going to tell me where we are?”

Pointing to a remote control on the table, Jorge smiled, moving the pan off the heat, “Press open on there…”

“Remote control blinds?” Alex chuckled, hitting the button, his eyes widening as the view was exposed to him, recognising the view almost instantly, “Anyos?”

Taking the seat next to Alex, the smile on his face tempered by the nerves in his belly, Jorge shrugged, “Technically Sispony, but close enough… It used to a be church, was converted last year. There’s a gym, pool and cinema underneath us, there’s a lift in the hallway. All the living accommodation is on this floor though.”

“It’s amazing,” Looking around, the high ceilings suddenly making sense, Alex looked back out of the window, smile on his face, “I can see Marc’s house… Did you hire this? Can we hire it at Christmas? I love Marc’s house, but all of the stairs are… Jorge?”

Shifting awkwardly in his seat, knowing it was a massive thing to do without mentioning it to Alex, Jorge smiled, “You can’t hire it, but you can stay here. Anytime you like.”

“How is that…” Taking in Jorge’s nerves, Alex’s stomach flipped uncomfortably, his voice hardening, “Jorge, who owns this house?”

Reaching for Alex’s hand, unsurprised when they were pulled away, the younger man fixing him with a stern look, Jorge swallowed hard, “I do. I bought this house… It’s close to you, it’s close to the museum and I was looking for somewhere here already and…”

“And this one is perfectly equipped for your disabled boyfriend?” Dripping with sarcasm and hurt, Alex shook his head, tears pooling in his eyes, his voice dropping to a whisper, “You don’t think I’m going to get better…”

“I do!” Grabbing Alex’s hands, not taking know for an answer, Jorge shook his head, his tone determined, “I bought this house despite the adaptions… I fully intend for them all to be ripped out in time, but for now, I admit, they are an added bonus… Seeing you walking around here with the sticks, and your face when you saw the bathroom and realised you’ll be able to shower without any help… Alex, that is **amazing** to see…”

“I’m a bit tired,” Alex stood up, slightly unsteady on his feet as he sorted out his sticks, hating the idea that Jorge viewed him as broken, that somehow worse than anyone else seeing him like that, “I’m going to rest for a bit.”

Nodding, knowing Alex needed time to dissect what had happened and process it, Jorge nodded, “Ok. Yell if you need anything.”

*

Balancing against the doorframe, Jorge sprawled on the sofa, barely paying any attention to the tv, Alex shrugged, “I think one stick was a tiny bit ambitious…”

“Need a hand?” Jorge clapped, that joke having made them all laugh too many times over the weeks, pride bursting through him as Alex flicked his middle finger at him, then got on with the task of moving around the sofa, one stick in his right hand, using his left to steady himself against the sofa until he’d moved enough to flop over the edge and land on the sofa with a thump, “Smooth…”

Laughing, hard until his laugh had become a giggle, Alex shook his head, wiping tears from his eyes, “It’s so good to be around someone who doesn’t jump up to help me at every inch…”

“I’m too lazy,” Winking, shifting his feet to allow Alex to wriggle around on the sofa, both of them ending up lying on the sofa, face to face, Alex’s back against the back of the sofa, Jorge looked behind him, pulling a face, “One wrong move and I’m on the floor…”

Shrugging, shaking with laughter, Alex shook his head, “Welcome to my world…”

“I love it when you laugh,” Reaching out, his fingertips tracing Alex’s cheek, Jorge smiled, “You are beautiful when you smile.”

Turning his head, catching one of Jorge’s fingers in his mouth to nip it lightly, Alex blushed slightly, “I’m sorry for how I reacted. I just freaked at the idea of you seeing me as damaged... Everyone else I can handle, but you're different. It's important that you see me as me, not someone with a stick or a frame...”

“That’s ok,” One hand under his own head, Jorge traced the other one down Alex’s arm until he laced their fingers together, “I should have spoken to you, but I was a bit nervous to be honest.”

Frowning, that not what he was expecting to hear, Alex snuggled down a bit more, “Why?”

“If you’d said that you didn’t want me to move to Andorra then I’d have been pretty gutted,” Jorge blushed, more so at Alex’s cute noises, “I love you, I don’t want to be in Switzerland all the time.”

His eyes and nose crinkling, his grin Marc-esq, Alex pecked a kiss to Jorge’s lips, “That was never going to happen… I love you too. I’m slightly concerned about your sneakiness, especially as you seem to have co-opted my mother…”

“Oops…”

“Yeah, oops,” Alex chuckled, his hand snaking under Jorge’s t-shirt, his eyes serious, “Thank you… I feel like I can be me again in this house.”

“I’m glad,” Eyes closing, Jorge leant in, Alex’s lips stealing his, silence in the room as they drowned in each other, tongues coming out to tangle, languid at first, before it became more; hands getting grabbier as Jorge rolled them slightly, him on top of Alex, the younger man’s legs spreading and wrapping around Jorge, both of them grunting at the friction, “Alex…”

“Fuck me…” Looking up, his hair dishevelled, eyes wide and lips reddened, Alex’s head lolled back as Jorge moved against, the touch against his covered cock glorious enough, “I’m not in pain, we won’t fall… Please…”

“Wait there…” Jumping up, ignoring Alex’s grumble of displeasure, Jorge dashed into the hallway, rummaging in his bag, before coming back in, kneeling on the sofa between Alex’s knees, a towel chucked on the floor next to him, lube and condom in his hand, Jorge looked almost predatory as he loomed over Alex, “If anything hurts…”

“Shut up Jorge…”

*

“ _Fuuuuuuuckkk_ …” Alex clung to Jorge, the older man fully seated in him, the thickness of Jorge’s cock stretching him beautifully, “Move please…”

His body already shiny with sweat, Jorge nibbled on Alex’s collarbone, leaving another little red mark, counting to ten in his head, trying not to explode too soon. Lifting himself up on his hands, he circled his hips, both of them cursing as he hit Alex’s prostate and Alex reacted, the clench around him almost hauling Jorge over, Alex’s beautiful wails adding to that, “I love you…”

“Please…” Writhing, his heels pressing into Jorge’s back, Alex cursed as Jorge moved again, his aim for Alex’s prostate perfect. Scrabbling his fingers against Jorge’s back, scratching the skin as Jorge rocked into him, the pace getting quicker, rubbing against that spot every time, Alex wailed as Jorge pushed a hand between them, fingers wrapping around his cock, the dual sensations making Alex’s balls climb high, bubbling in his body as a wave washed over him, taking him over the edge with Jorge’s name bursting from his throat, a glorious moment of normality that left him clinging to Jorge, happy tears in his eyes as they sank into a kiss as Jorge softened inside him, closer than ever before.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this one has been kind of weird. It was a random idea and the morning after the first chapter I woke up intending to delete it, but I didn't because some of you liked it. I've had a love-hate relationship with it. The last few chapters have been so enjoyable, and this last one - well I love it. It's been something I could pour emotion into and I hope you like it.
> 
> I don't often dedicate chapters to people, but this one definately belongs to 992693. Thank you.
> 
> The fic overall is dedicated to three people - Lauren, Kat and Liz. Each of you got me through a particular bit and I'm truly grateful.
> 
> Thank you for every comment and kudos and anon message and everything. I appreciate each and every one. Life is pretty shit right now and writing is the escape. The fact you indulge me and encourage me means the world to me xx

Standing at the end of pit lane, arms crossed, watching the Moto2 bikes whizz past and cross the start-finish line, Jorge jumped high when a hand slapped onto his shoulder, “Jesus Christ Pedrosa! Are you trying to kill me before our race or something?”

“Added bonus,” Dani chuckled, putting his fingers to his ears as a group of four bikes raced past them, “I thought you’d be in the garage?”

Shaking his head, Jorge went silent for a few moments, another group of bikes passing them, the lead group of three, the bright blue #73 leading the way, Jorge’s eyes locked onto it, watching until it was turned into the first corner, fighting off another challenge from his teammate, “Nah, that would make today about me and it’s about him.”

“It’s good to see…” Nodding toward the big screen, the camera on Alex as he weaved his way through the next set of turns, Dani puffed out his cheeks, an air of sadness over him, “He’s finally back on top form now, eh?”

His shoulders back, chin up, Jorge’s smile oozed pride as he nodded, “He’s done amazing.”

“I loved his ‘no falls’ tweet on Wednesday,” Dani chuckled, all of them invested in Alex’s prolonged recovery, feeling guilty that they’d escaped relatively lightly in comparison, “I’m proud of him…”

Nodding, his eyes locked to the screen as another battle for first place played out, everyone holding their breath as Alex wobbled slightly, that making him run wide, Jorge's pride was clear for Dani to see and he yelped and cheered, “Come on…”

“Come on Alex… Yes!” Dani joined Jorge in punching the air as Alex snapped straight back, “He’s got this…”

Swallowing almost constantly, his foot tapping, Jorge checked the lap counter, double checking on the big screen to make sure there was only one lap left, “Come on. Come on. Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon… Yes! Yes, yes, yes…”

“Yeeesss!!” Punching the air, Dani spun to Jorge, no-one thinking anything of them celebrating on Alex’s behalf, the four kidnapped riders seen as a group, Valentino very much keeping himself on the outside, although even he flashed up on screen, clapping Alex’s success, “He did it!”

Tears welling up in his eyes, Jorge tried to swallow down the lump in his throat, every ounce of pride itching to burst out of him; the memories of every set back, every stumble, re-surfacing in his head as he nodded at Dani, his voice barely a whisper, “Yeah, he did…”

*

“Dani!” Jogging to catch up with the older man, still saturated in champagne from his team, Alex grinned, “Thanks for the text. Sorry about your engine..."

Dani accepted the hug, wrinkling his nose as the stickiness of Alex’s t-shirt touched his cheek, “Shit happens… Well done mate. I really am delighted for you.”

“Thanks,” Alex beamed, his hand coming up subconsciously to touch his head, the scar hidden by his hair and cap, “I’m having a party tonight, we’re going to take over the karaoke bar, I’d really like you to come…”

Shrugging, Dani folded his arms, tilting his head to the side, “Look Alex, I’m really pleased for you, and you really, really should celebrate the fuck out of this, but…”

“Please…” Almost begging, Alex bit his lip, deciding to opt for sneaky, “If you come then Jorge could come with you… I…”

Smiling, and nodding, knowing this would be the last year Alex and Jorge were hidden, everything only a secret until Alex was properly better and his MotoGP seat was secured, Dani agreed, “Ok. I’ll come with Jorge, but I’m not staying, ok?”

“Yeah…” Turning away, Alex turned back, pinching his nose, his eyes kind, “For what it’s worth, I think he’s been an idiot, and I reckon he knows it.”

*

“Jorge?” Smiling her best smile, Roser pulled a face, leaving everyone around them wondering what she was up too, “I’m behind someone really quite tall… Would you mind swapping seats?”

“Well… I…” Shrugging, his third place in the championship, Marc winning once again, pipping Dani by only twenty points, feeling like nothing compared to Alex’s victory, Jorge nodded, “Sure, if you want. I’m not sure one row will help, and he’s not…”

“Yes?” Raising an eyebrow, her and Jorge having formed something like an alliance in Alex recovery, in particular working together when things got the youngest down, Roser chuckled, telling all around them from where the brothers had inherited their sound, as she watched the penny drop with Jorge, “Thank you…”

“Your Mama worries me,” Whispering in Alex’s ear as he sank into the seat next to him, Jorge shook his head at his lover’s low chuckle, “She’s even more devious than Marc!”

Alex nodded, his smile and eyes gleeful, feeling on top of the world, “Yep… Marc is an amateur in comparison. She’s the worst of us all. Her mission tonight is to get Hector to sing on karaoke.”

“That won’t happen,” Their voices low as they waited for everyone to file in and the awards ceremony to begin, Jorge risked brushing his hand against Alex’s, “I’m so fucking proud of you.”

Beaming, Alex took a shuddery breath, emotions strong as he nodded, “Thank you. You never gave up on me.”

“Some things are worth fighting for,” Watching as Dani awkwardly passed Marc to get to his seat, Jorge sighed, shaking his head, “Do we have a plan for tonight?”

“Sneak off early and make the most of your empty motorhome?”

“Well…” Jorge blushed bright red, almost choking on the laugh, Alex hitting the giggles, “I meant for Dani and your brother, but I do like your plan.”

“I don’t have a plan for Marc and Dani,” Alex caught the eye of his brother, only sat in front of him, shaking his head slightly, “If Marc doesn’t have the balls to **speak** to Dani and be honest with him then he doesn’t deserve him.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the MotoGP Awards Ceremony…”

*

“He won’t.”

“He will.”

“No chance.”

“She’s persuasive, he will.”

“Hector does not sing.”

“Tonight he does.”

“Not a chance.”

“Blow job in the disabled loo says he does…”

“You’re on.”

“He’s next to the stage.”

“That’s because your mother is bullying him.”

“She’ll bully him into singing…”

“No way.”

“Next up we’ve got Hector singing I Want To Break Free….”

“Fucking hell…”

“Excuse us…”

Dani tipped back the rest of his beer, waving his hand at Jorge and Alex as they stumbled toward the bathroom, both of them wide eyed and giggling, oblivious to Hector’s dulcet tones filing the room, only eyes for each other, “Don’t mind me…”

“I got shots, where did they go?” Hammered, Marc put the four lurid coloured drinks down on the table, “Alex!”

Dani scoffed, shaking his head, “Jorge promised him a blow job if Hector sang…”

“Ew,” Marc wrinkled his nose in disgust, tipping back one of the shots to rid himself of the image, “Now I’ll think of that every time Hector sings…”

Dani giggled, mentally plotting to ask Livio to make their Communications Manager to sing a bit more during his final MotoGP season, anything to give him a bit of an advantage, “I think it was just an excuse, they’ve been eye-fucking each other all night.”

“They do that,” Marc flopped down onto the chair next to Dani, sadness creeping onto his face as he realised Dani could barely look at him, “I hate this.”

Dani shrugged, not paying attention, mesmerised by the way Roser was cajoling Hector from the front of the stage, “Buy something different next time.”

“Not that,” Marc waved between them, the gesture pointless as Dani didn’t look, “Me and you. I hate how awkward it is.”

Turning, fixing Marc with a sharp look, his tone somehow steady despite the level of alcohol coursing through his veins, “That’s what happens when you break someone’s heart.”

“Dani…” Marc put his hand out, stopping Dani from leaving, his eyes pleading, “Can we talk, please?”

“I don’t…” Looking around, several staff members dashing in the direction of the bathroom, Dani’s eyes widened, “I think your brother and Jorge might have accidentally pulled the emergency cord in the disabled bathroom…”

“Huh?” Looking up, bursting into a fit of giggles, Marc shook his head, dashing across the room, intercepting the manager, “It’s ok… My brother thinks he is funny, but…”

*

“I thought you’d gone…” Stepping out into the cool night air, Marc shivered as the wind blew around his neck. Pulling his sleeves over his hands, he leant on the railing, the balcony overlooking the deserted car park, he smiled, watching Dani, “I hate smoking, yet you look so sexy when you smoke…”

Avoiding looking at Marc, Dani blew smoke rings into the air, before his hurt tone pieced the silence, “Why did you do it?”

“I thought it was what I wanted,” Looking into the distance, his shoulder brushing Dani’s, Marc closed his eyes, “When I was with you it was… It was overwhelming… I couldn’t sleep without you; I wasn’t hungry without you and when you took me to bed… It was terrifying.”

Turning sharply, Dani looked wounded, “If it was too much or too quick then you should have said.”

“No,” Marc shook his head sadly, sniffing loudly, “Not that kind of terrifying… I’m used to being myself, wild and lairy and loud and in control… With you I… I felt fragile. Protected, but fragile. When those footballers came out I read the comments and I freaked out.”

Nodding, the outing of the two famous Spaniards making them all re-evaluate how far they’d thought their country had moved on, Dani swallowed, “That’s understandable.”

“What I did…” Marc crossed his arms, wiping a tear away, hoping that Dani hadn’t noticed, “She was easy. She was what everyone expected, she didn’t mind the time away, she was funny and she was like a protective barrier.”

“Right,” Dani took a final drag of his cigarette before pinging it into the darkness, “I hope you are very happy together.”

“She’s gone… I ended it.”

“Why?”

“Because someone asked me when I started doing things the easy way and it made me think,” Marc turned to Dani, tears streaming down his face, “And then you crashed in Motegi and I thought… Fuck, Dani, you just flew through the air…”

“I know,” Shuddering, his most recent crash far from the worst, but one of the most terrifying Dani shrugged, “It was cuts and bruises, I’ve had worse.”

“I know,” Marc admitted, wiping his face with his sleeve, “But it looked so bad… You were right there in front of me and then the bike just… All around my last lap I just kept thinking of the things that I hadn’t said, that you didn’t know and I thought you’d never know them and I got off the bike, I asked how you were and then I called her.”

“You called her?” Dani’s eyes went wide, mentally calculating the time difference, “From Japan.”

“Yeah,” Shrugging, Marc puffed out his cheeks, “I didn’t really treat her good in the end either… I know I can never fix things Dani, but I am so sorry.”

“Ok.”

“I will **always** regret it,” Marc leant on the railings, looking away, “All the times I didn’t tell you that I loved you. All the times I didn’t tell you that I’m proud of you. All the times I didn’t thank you… I, erm, I’ve decided to leave Honda at the end of next season.”

“WHAT?!” Dani almost choked on his own words, his eyes drilling into Marc, silently imploring the other man to turn to him, “Why?”

“Because it’s not fair on you,” Looking up, his breath catching in his throat as he caught Dani’s eye properly for the first time in almost a year, Marc’s face crumpled at the look on Dani’s face, “Please don’t hate me for that too. Having you so close is…”

“It’s impossible…” Dani smiled ruefully, “Because you want to reach across the garage and hug good morning?”

“Yeah,” Marc nodded.

“Because you want to grab a hold and check a pulse after a crash? Because you want to pat them on the shoulder when they have a rough time and remind them how brilliant they are?”

“All of that,” Marc swallowed, tears falling openly, “Because you want to hit yourself over the head with the heaviest of Santi’s spanners because you have to see them almost every day and every time it reminds how you had perfection and you chucked it away…”

“I’m retiring…” Dani reached out, wiping Marc’s cheek, “So you don’t have to leave.”

“Please don’t,” Marc almost whimpered, closing his eyes at the touch of Dani’s thumb on his cheek, “I don’t think I can do it without you.”

“You did this year.”

“That was fluke…” Marc shrugged, opening his eyes, looking at Dani honestly, “If Iannone hadn’t taken you out and Jorge hadn’t been such a dick when he was skiing I wouldn’t have one. You would have… Can I tell you something?”

“Anything.”

“I almost chucked it today…” Marc shook his head, shame coursing through him, “I was going down the straight and I knew you were behind me and I thought to myself ‘If I throw this then Dani wins’ and the straight seemed so long…”

“That would have been pretty pointless given that my engine packed up,” Voice hard, Dani bit his lip, “Why didn’t you?”

“Because you’d have hated me more than you already do… You’d have known, you can see straight through me, and even though I know the chances of you forgiving me for everything I’ve done are absolutely tiny I knew they’d be gone forever if I did that.”

“That’s true,” Dani nodded, the implication of Marc’s words swimming around in his head, the idea of Marc giving up a championship for anyone mind-blowing, “Thank you, for not doing it. You are right, that would have been the end.”

“Is this?” Chewing on his lip, Marc stood up straight, shaking his head, “I know I have no right to ask you this, but… Is there any chance for us?”

“I think…” Dani smiled, the air of sadness between them slowly being replaced by one of hope, him having known from day one there was a chance Marc would get spooked, the only question being if he'd allow himself to come back, “I think if your Mama can get Hector to sing on karaoke then pretty much anything is possible…”

“Dani…” Marc laughed softly, biting on his lip as he stepped closer, the warmth of Dani’s breath hitting his face, “I’ll never, ever hurt you like that again.”

“Please don’t,” Dani smiled, his hands going to cup Marc’s face, “I can’t do this again. If you walk again then…”

“I won’t,” Sliding his arms around Dani’s waist, thinking that some fireworks should be going off somewhere to mark the moment, Marc shivered, “Never again.”

“Come home with me after the school thing, spend a few days in Geneva before you and your brother destroy Cervera?”

“I’d like that…” Leaning down, a jolt of electricity shooting through him as Dani’s lips touched his for the first time in too long, Marc whimpered into the kiss, the one wrong of the year finally put right.

*

“You owe me fifty Euros…” Standing on his tiptoes, he and Alex pressing their noses against the glass to spy on the other two, Jorge looked up at Alex, smug look on his face, “I will trade you for a blow job though…”

Looking Jorge up and down, high on life, alcohol and winning the title, Alex tilted his head to one side, his brain obviously whirring as he licked his lips, “Double or quits?”

“What are you thinking?” Jorge bit his lip, the look on Alex’s face telling him that the younger man was about to suggest something filthy, “Alex?”

Shrugging, reaching out to palm Jorge, using being hidden in the shadows to his advantage, “I was going to say if you sing a duet with Hector then I’d let you fuck me in the toilets, but…”

“But?” Liking the idea, Jorge thrust himself against Alex’s hand, “But?”

“I’m bored of games,” Alex grinned, amused at the low whine as he removed his hand, “How about instead of playing games and making bets I just say I want to move into your house properly and you fuck me in the bathroom to celebrate?”

“Really? You want to live with me? Full time?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, his eyes wide and glassy, bottom lip red from being bitten, that making Jorge want to bite it more, “Me and you. Full time. Forever. What do you think?”

“I think,” Snaking an arm around Alex’s waist, not caring who did or didn’t see, Jorge grinned, “… I’ve wanted to marry you for a long time now so full time and forever sounds pretty fucking good to me.”

“Me too,” Checking no-one was watching, Alex leant down to peck a kiss to Jorge’s lips, groaning when Jorge caught his bottom lip with his teeth, that always driving Alex wild, “Jorge…”

“Now… About this bathroom fucking you mentioned…”


End file.
